THE state has to safeguard the social order for society to survive and to flourish. Since the dawn of civilization, however, mankind has had to contend with fellow human beings who have evil intentions and self-interests that encroach on the well-being of others.  Thus, laws had to be imposed for the sake of peace and order.  And with the continuing violations of these laws, “crime” has come into existence.

The police and other law enforcement agencies in modern society have categorized crime into two — index crime and non-index crime.

Index crimes are crimes against persons and property, while non-index crimes are other illegal acts that violate special laws or local ordinances.

Every administration in the Philippines has struggled to contain the crime wave to the minimum, understandably with varying degrees of success.

‘We are confident that the Marcos administration will sustain its crime prevention programs, public safety initiatives and convergent efforts of the DILG and the PNP to prevent crimes and protect the citizenry.’

During the first 21 months of the Bongbong Marcos administration, it was reported that there was a significant drop in index crime volume.  The report was made by Interior

Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., chairperson of the National Peace and Order Council.

Secretary Abalos said the country’s index crime volume decreased by 63.59 percent — from 196,519 between July 1, 2016 and April 21, 2018 to 71,544 between July 1, 2022 and April 21, 2024.

The report also indicated a decline in the average monthly crime rate for the same periods from 21.92 to 15.04.

Index crimes such as theft, physical injury, robbery, rape, murder, carnapping and homicide decreased from 196,420 to 71,133 or 63.79 percent decrease.  Non-index crime volume, on the other hand, fell from 345,398 from July 1, 2016 to April 21, 2018 to 300,257 from July 1, 2022 to April 21, 2024.

From Jan. 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the Philippine National Police recorded a total crime clearance efficiency of 98.88 percent and a total crime solution efficiency of 82.69 percent.

The non-index crime, on the other hand, was recorded at 202,377 from January 2023 to March 2024, which is 11,546 or 5.37 percent lower than the 214,923 recorded cases from October 2021 to December 2022.

Political analysts have attributed these initial gains of the Marcos government in the fight against crime to the various official interventions it has taken to alleviate mass poverty. Crimes generally retreat when people are content and have something to eat.

Then, there is also Bongbong’s revised approach in handling the drug problem.

It may be recalled that during the Duterte administration, the PNP implemented a strong-arm approach which led to various human rights violations, including the series of killings among drug syndicate members themselves.  This aggressive approach in the war on drugs led to a considerable increase in index crimes, as various groups involved in the drug trade fight for both survival and market dominance.

We are confident that the Marcos administration will sustain its crime prevention programs, public safety initiatives and convergent efforts of the DILG and the PNP to prevent crimes and protect the citizenry.