Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office OIC director, Senior Supt. Mariano Natuel Jr., announced a slight decrease in the average monthly crime rate and index crime in the province for the first two quarters of 2014, compared to the same period in 2013.

A statistics graph from the NOPPO showed that the average monthly crime rate from January to June 2014 was 60 percent, or five percent lower than the 65 percent average in the same period last year.

The average monthly index crime rate for the first six months of 2014 showed a slight decrease of 3.03 percent, or 32 percent compared to 33 percent in the same period last year.

In the first semester of 2012, the average monthly crime rate in Negros Oriental was 19 percent, representing a 242.11 percent increase in the year that followed. The average monthly index crime rate for the same period in 2012 was 11 percent, and this skyrocketed to an increase of 200 percent in 2013.

Crime solution efficiency increased from 33.6 percent in the first two quarters of 2012, to 52.41 percent in 2013, but dropped slightly to 52.12 percent in 2014.

On comparative crime volume, the first two quarters of 2014 showed a slight drop of 8.84 percent, or a total of 4,827 incidents, compared to 5,295 for the same period last year.

The crime volume from January to June 2013 reflected a 250.89 percent increase, or 3,786 incidents, from 1,509 in the same period in 2012.

In Dumaguete City, a rise in the number of shooting incidents was seen in the first semester of 2014 compared to last year.

Supt. James Goforth, Dumaguete police chief, said about 90 to 95 percent of the shooting incidents were related to the illegal drugs trade.

Police records show that, from January to June 2014, a total of 21 shooting incidents were reported in Dumaguete, compared to 14 for the same period in 2013.

Goforth could not immediately provide other crime statistics in Dumaguete, but he assured that the police and the city government are doing their best to curb criminality in the city.*JFP