(Eagle News)–Focus crimes such as murder and rape have hit an “all-time low” amid the COVID-19 community quarantine, the Philippine National Police said.
According to the PNP, a comparative analysis from the Joint Task Force COVID Shield during 84 days of the period showed crime incidents dropping 57%, to 5652 cases from March 17 to June 8.
The figure was 7,352 cases less than the 13,004 cases recorded from December 24, 2019 to Mar 16, 2020.
In Luzon, the 8-focus crime rate went down by 61%, from 6,922 cases to 2,720 incidents during the same period.
In the Visayas, the focus crime rate slipped to 54%, with a decrease from 3,344 cases to 1,546 incidents.
Mindanao also showed a 49% decrease—from 2,738 cases to 1,386.
Joint Task Force COVID Shield Commander, Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar said in a report to PNP Chief Archie Gamboa that a total of 193,779 community quarantine violators have been warned, fined and arrested.
Most of them are from Luzon, with 126,038 violators, while Visayas and Mindanao posed 34,370 and 33,371 violators, respectively.
“Even as we are faced with unprecedented challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the PNP remains steadfast in fulfilling our mandate to serve and protect the people, not only as police front liners but as enforcers of peace and order,” Gamboa said.
The eight focus crimes are murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, carnapping of vehicles, and carnapping of motorcycles, the PNP said.
