BCPO notes decrease in crime incidents

The Baguio City Police Office noted a slight decrease in crime incidents for the first semester last year at 380 down to 362 for the same period of this year.

Of the 362 crimes from January to June this year, 220 were solved for a crime solution efficiency of 60.78 percent according to PLTCol Allan K. Sison, chief of BCPO Plans and Programs Unit.

Sison said several interventions have been employed by the BCPO to improve its crime solution efficiency particularly on close coordination with the City Prosecutor’s Office and the courts for the

speedy release of arrest warrants against peace and order violators.

The BCPO also created a Special Tracker Teams (STT) that monitors the release of arrest warrants and the whereabouts of the respondents for their subsequent apprehension.

Police authorities likewise maintained the conduct of hot pursuit operations for the immediate arrest of suspects as well as filing of cases through inquest proceedings against violators of special laws. 

The BCPO institutionalized “Oplan Pagtugis” to conduct manhunt operation against respondents and the creation of a database for the profiling of all personalities involved in different forms

of criminalities to facilitate identification of would-be suspects.

Sison said other interventions include the strategic deployment of personnel specially in the crime prone areas; strengthened collaboration with stakeholders, force multipliers and volunteer groups as additional manpower in crime prevention strategies; and, the requirement for establishment owners to hire security personnel and mandatory installation of closed-circuit television or CCTVs as proactive measures and crime deterrence.

The BCPO intensified its information drives on crime prevention tips and hotline numbers through

distribution of flyers, community dialogues and posting in their official social media page.

Sison said the BCPO also conducts complete debriefing to all arrested suspects to ascertain

their other illegal activities, cohorts and plans. – JM Samidan