The police will double their efforts to apprehend foreign fugitives hiding in the country, Philippine National Police chief Rodolfo Azurin said Monday, referring to a function normally undertaken by elements of the Bureau of Immigration.

Azurin said that it would aid the International Criminal Police Organization in "tracking down wanted fugitives and [in] providing active technical support" to the Interpol.

The PNP chief issued the statement following his participation in an Interpol conference in Lyon, France. He said the Philippines has always been active in arresting transnational fugutives within its borders.

The BI has its own fugitives search unit.

During the conference, Azurin reported on the role played by the PNP in cracking down on the illicit activities of foreigners in the country, including the online sexual exploitation of children.

The PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group has also broken the backbone of syndicated criminal activities engaged in online financial fraud, he said.

The PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management also reported on Monday a six-percent drop in the number of focus crimes recorded from July to November this year, compared to the same months last year.

"There was a notable decrease of eight focus crimes from 16,469 for 2021 to 15,482 in 2022. A decrease of 1,167 incidents," Azurin said in the same press briefing in Camp Crame, citing DIDM data.

The eight focus crimes are theft, physical injury, rape, robbery, murder, homicide, motorcycle theft and vehicle theft.

Crime clearance efficiency for July to November 2022 was at 92.64 percent, slightly lower than the 94.73 recorded in the same period in 2021.

The crime solution efficiency for the same period stood at 60.59 percent from 61.28 percent last year.