Index crimes drop by 31 percent

The number of index crimes dropped by 31 percent from 1 to 25 December, the Philippine National Police reported on Tuesday.

Index crimes or focus crimes include theft, physical injury, rape, robbery, murder, homicide, motorcycle theft, and vehicle theft.

PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said a total of 2,049 index crimes were reported, lower than 2,975 cases reported from the same period last year.

The biggest decrease was in Mindanao at 35.56 percent followed by Luzon at 30.11 percent and Visayas at 29.49 percent.

"It is with joy to mention that the past 10 days ushering Christmas Day had been generally peaceful throughout the country with no major untoward incident reported by Police Regional Offices," Azurin said in a statement.

The PNP chief attributed the peaceful observance of the holiday season to the deployment of 85 percent of its personnel to different transportation hubs, business establishments, and other places where people converge.

He also cited the strong collaboration and coordination among concerned government agencies and the support of the community.

From 16 December to Christmas Day, the PNP reported no casualty from firecrackers or stray bullet incidents.

During the same period, 17 persons were nabbed for the illegal sale of firecrackers online.

Focus or index crimes are considered serious crimes while non-index crimes are violations of local ordinances and laws and road crashes.

Other non-index crimes are violations against women and children, illegal possession of firearms and drugs, illegal logging, lasciviousness, direct assault, and other crimes not listed under index crimes.