- PRO XI records 14.4% decrease in incidents from January to September 2026
TOTAL focus crimes across the region dropped by 14.40% in the first nine months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, according to comparative data from the Police Regional Office (PRO) XI.
Data tracking the breakdown of the eight focus crimes from January to Sept. 30 showed that total incidents decreased from 1,236 cases in 2025 down to 1,058 cases in 2026, registering a reduction of 178 incidents.
Crime breakdown and trends
Significant decreases were observed across major index offenses:
- Rape recorded the highest percentage drop among major crimes, falling by 19.72% with 285 cases in 2026 compared to 355 the previous year (a variance of -70).
- Theft cases dropped by 17.65%, from 340 down to 280 cases.
- Physical Injury cases decreased by 14.96%, dropping from 234 to 199.
- Homicide and Murder also saw downward trends, with homicide cases dropping by 10.71% (from 56 to 50) and murder falling by 7.46% (from 134 to 124).
- Robbery remained relatively flat, decreasing slightly by 1.23% from 81 to 80 cases.
Slight rise in carnapping
While overall index crimes tumbled, vehicular theft categories experienced minor increases.
Motor vehicle (MV) carnapping rose from four cases to five (+25%), while motorcycle carnapping increased from 32 to 35 cases (+9.38%).
PRO XI spokesperson PMAJ Catherine Dela Rey said the decrease in focus crimes was due to effective crime prevention activities, especially strategic patrolling and personnel deployment.
