EDITORIAL - Rising criminality

With increased mobility, criminals also have greater opportunities to commit wrongdoing. The Philippine National Police has reported that since Metro Manila and several other areas across the country de-escalated to COVID Alert Level 1 last month, cases of murder, theft and other index crimes have gone up.

PNP records show that murders went up from 292 cases nationwide in February to 328 in March, while homicides were also up from 76 to 89 in the same period. Thefts rose from 921 to 995 cases. The total crime volume went up by 5.61 percent, from 28,214 incidents in February to 29,798 last month.

Curbing criminality has become more challenging as mobility restrictions are eased in the pandemic. Masking requirements and the widespread use of motorcycles as getaway vehicles, with the identities of riders fully concealed by helmets and clothing, complicate efforts to hunt down felons. Motorcycle top boxes can conceal weapons, illegal drugs and other contraband.

The widespread use of closed-circuit television cameras has helped in tracking down criminals. But felons are becoming tech-savvy enough to avoid having even parts of their faces seen on CCTV. Vehicle license plates are also smeared, or else stolen plates are used on getaway vehicles.

As important as catching felons is crime prevention. More police checkpoints, an intensified campaign against vehicles without license plates or with smeared plates, and overall greater police visibility at the grassroots can deter criminality.

To increase police presence in communities, the PNP should drastically reduce the number of its personnel providing bodyguard duty to politicians and other VIPs. Everyone is a taxpayer in this country and deserves equal protection from public safety personnel on the government’s payroll. VIPs are wealthy enough to afford their private security personnel.

A critical component of crime prevention is public cooperation. This requires a level of trust in the police, and a belief that vigilance and cooperation will be rewarded with timely and efficient action by the PNP.