Crime incidents declined compared to last year, the spokesperson of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Sunday.

In an interview with dzBB, Col. Jean Fajardo said these crime incidents went down by eight percent from January 2 to August 15, 2022 on a year-on-year comparison.

“If we base it on the statistics on January 2 to August 15, 2022 compared to the same period last year, it shows that eight percent of the total crime incidents have declined. This includes index crimes or focused crimes (including) crimes against persons and crimes against property,” Fajardo said.

“However, we can’t deny that in recent weeks, we have recorded abductions and missing persons and after a few days, the victim is found dead. But these recorded incidents have been resolved. The PNP has already arrested the suspects, filed cases against them, and they are currently detained at police stations,” she added.

Fajardo said robberies rose by 0.49 percent while theft went up 8.62 percent.

She said there appears to be an increase in crime incidents because some are rehashing resolved kidnapping cases while some people on social media are staging them to attract more followers.

“We are reminding the public to be careful with what is posted on social media. Don’t just keep sharing because you could be facing charges,” she said.

An uptick in crime incidents is expected because of the more relaxed COVID-19 restrictions and the return of face-to-face classes, she added.

Fajardo said PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin has directed police to sustain maximum presence, especially in areas where crimes are most likely to happen.

“That’s why, this school year, we expect the PNP to sustain its presence and visibility near schools until the end of the school year,” she said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS