RPOC/APRIL 6,2018: Senior Supt. Julian Entoma showing the decrease of thecrime situation in Central Visayas curing the Regional Peace and Order Council-7 chaired by Cebu Gov Hilario Davide lll.(CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
ALTHOUGH Metro Cebu experienced several shooting incidents which led to several deaths including those of prominent persons like lawyer Jonnah John Ungab in the first quarter of the year, crimes in Central Visayas in that period have indeed gone down by 16.5 percent.
Senior Supt. Julian Entoma of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) said the total crime volume in the first quarter was 11,574 in the first quarter, which is 2,290 incidents lower than the crime volume of 13,864 in the same period last year.
Entoma presented the PRO-7’s accomplishment report during Friday’s Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) meeting, which was attended by government officials including those from government agencies.
Entoma said that this result was accomplished because of aggressive police operations, and finding a way to maximize the number of work hours of every police personnel in the region.
He said that instead of the three-eight hour shifts, they changed this to two 12-hour shifts for every police office, ensuring more police officers present during the shifts.
Aside from that he also cited the deployment of police officers to crime-prone areas and conducted raids and search operations.
Among the 11,574 crime incidents in the region, 3,249 crimes of that number happened in Cebu province and 2,783 crimes happened in Cebu City.
Entoma also said that in the region, the homicide, however, increased from 32 to 39 cases.
Of this number, 12 cases were in Bohol while Cebu province posted 10 cases.
He also cited theft, physical injury and robbery as the top crimes in the region.
He suggested that local government units should pass an ordinance prohibiting drinking in public places which would stop the possibility of a drunk person from committing crimes such as physical injury.
He also encouraged the public to secure their houses before they leave them to prevent any thieves into their houses.