Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte has lauded the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) for its continuing efforts in bringing down crime incidents in the city, noting the continued drop in crime rate.
VM Baste, who took the helm of city government as acting mayor, said he was happy about the 66 percent decrease in crime rate.
He learned this during the City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) meeting on Wednesday when DCPO reported the comparative crime statistics from 2015 to the first months of the current year.
“Sixty-six percent is a big percentage. Just a little more effort and Davao City will be like heaven because of our safety standard. I hope we can further decrease the crime rate,” he said.
Baste noted that the efforts of security forces are always geared toward the safety of Dabawenyos and for the people to feel secure.
“Our goal is a zero crime rate. That would be very difficult to achieve, but I don’t think it’s not achievable. We are doing our best to further improve for the future of the Dabawenyos,” he added.
DCPO Director Police Colonel Alexander Tagum attributed the drop in crime rate to the high percentage of criminal apprehensions made by the police.
“The drop in crime rate is the result of our high (rate of) apprehension of criminals — wanted or violators of the law, particularly RA 9165,” he said.
Republic Act (RA) 9165 refers to the Comprehensive Drugs Act of 2002.
In the 1st semester of 2015, Davao City recorded 6,869 crime incidents but it went down to 2,311 for the same period this year. CIO
