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Families victimized by common crimes drop in 3Q: SWS
Common crimes refer to pickpockets or robbery of personal property, break-ins, carnapping, and physical violence, the SWS said.
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MANILA – Families victimized by common crimes went down from 1.7 million to 1.4 million, according to the third quarter 2019 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
The survey, conducted from Sept. 27 to 30 with 1,800 respondents, showed 5.6 percent of families were victimized by common crimes, which is 1.
4 points lower than the 7.0 percent recorded in June 2019. It is also the lowest since 5.3 percent in June 2018.
Common crimes refer to pickpockets or robbery of personal property, break-ins, carnapping, and physical violence, the SWS said.
The survey also noted that except in March 2013 and June 2016 when it was at 10.5 percent and 11.4 percent respectively, victimization of families by any common crime has been at single-digit levels from March 2012 to September 2019.
As for property crimes, the survey found 5.2 percent of families reporting victimization by pickpocket or street robbery, burglary or break-ins, and carnapping, one point lower than the 6.2 percent in June 2019.
Victimization by property crimes has been at single-digit levels from March 2012 to September 2019 except in June 2016 when it was at 10.9% percent.
By area, the survey found that quarterly victimization by street robbery and break-ins fell in the Visayas, Metro Manila, and Balance Luzon, but rose slightly in Mindanao.
None of the vehicle-owning sample families in Metro Manila experienced carnapping in September 2019 while none of the sample families in Visayas experienced napping since December 2018.
However, quarterly victimization by carnapping among vehicle-owning families rose slightly in Balance Luzon and Mindanao.
Quarterly victimization by physical violence fell in Mindanao and Balance Luzon, remained unchanged in Metro Manila but rose slightly in the Visayas.
Meanwhile, the fear of burglaries rose in all areas except in Metro Manila.
The survey also found that the proportion of those feeling unsafe streets rose in Mindanao and Balance Luzon, but fell in Metro Manila and the Visayas.
It also found the fear of many drug addicts in the area fell in Visayas, and Metro Manila, remained the same in Balance Luzon, but rose in Mindanao.
Since 1989, the SWS has been asking respondents of each quarterly survey whether any household member became a victim of street robbery, home break-in, or violence in the past six months.
In 1992, SWS added motor vehicle theft to its list of crimes specifically monitored.
Victimization by common crimes reported in SWS surveys is much higher than the number of crimes actually reported to the police.
