DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Davao City Police Chief Sr. Supt. Michael John Dubria said the crime volume in the city decreased by 21 percent as of October this year.
During the first regular meeting of the City Peace and Order Council on Tuesday, Dubria presented to Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio the current crime volume rate as of January to October this year.
Dubria said the number of crime volume decreased by about 9,032 which lessened up to 21 percent compared to last year’s crime volume of 11,436.
But DCPO’s Deputy City Director for Operations Angel B. Sumagaysay noted that during the election period, there is an increase of motor napping incident in the city.
The DCPO chief said that checkpoint operations were intensified especially on the reported theft of motorcycles in the city.
Dubria also explained that during checkpoints, motorists are advised to present their certificate of registration and official receipt to know if they are authorized to drive the motorcycle.
For her part, Duterte advised the DCPO to suppress street crimes especially with the upcoming yuletide season.
“I hope that you will further exert effort to reduce the crime incidents particularly the petty crimes and the street crimes which is the common complaint of our residents here in the City,” she said.
Need for more troops
As more people flocked in the city, Dubria said the challenge of DCPO is to deploy more personnel to secure several areas in the city.
“We wanted to secure the places of engagement especially now that it’s already holiday season,” he said
Upgrade of facilities
Meanwhile, Army Col. Erwin Bernard L. Neri, head of Task Force (TF) Davao expressed his request to upgrade their equipment and facilities in order to intensify counter-terrorism operations.
“This is not only to upgrade the level of security in Davao City but also to soften up the impact on military personnel,” Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan head of PRO XI said of Neri’s request.
Some of the equipment that TF Davao requested were metal detectors, X-ray, portable baggage machine, and improvised explosive device (IED) jammers.
Gaerlan said this will give more convenience to the public.
Dubria also announced that DCPO already created a group using the communication platform Viber for immediate communication.
“We report some pictures of suspects and persons of interest there so that we can always cross-check with all other police station commanders to immediately fast-track the suspects,” he said.
Members of the City Peace and Order Council were officially sworn into office before Mayor Duterte. (davaotoday.com)
