Fewer families fell victim to common crimes in Q2– SWS

MANILA, Philippines – Around 1.2 million families fell victim to common crimes in the second quarter of the year, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Thursday, September 20.

The results of the Second Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey held from June 27 to 30 showed that  5.3% of families in the country – an estimated 1.2 million families – reported that their members were victims of common crimes, from around  6.6% or around 1.5 million families in March.

Common crimes refer to pickpocket or robbery of personal property, break-ins, carnapping, and physical violence.

The SWS said families who experienced property crime decreased by 1 point to 5.1% (1.2 million families) in June from  6.1% (1.4 million families) in March, while those with members hurt by physical violence fell to a “record low” 0.2% or 45,000 families in June.

The SWS, which has been holding the survey since 1989, asked 1,200 respondents – 300 each in Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao – whether any household member became a victim of street robbery, home break-in,  violence, and carnapping in the past 6 months.

“Victimization by common crimes reported in SWS surveys is much higher than the number of crimes actually reported to the police,” SWS said.

Presence of drug addicts up in Mindanao, Metro Manila

The survey results showed that 41% agreed with the statement: “In this neighborhood there are already very many people addicted to banned drugs (Sa lugar na ito, napakarami na ang mga taong na-aadik sa mga ipinagbabawal na gamot).”

While on a national level, this sentiment has hardly changed from 40% in March, per geographic area, people who agreed with this statement rose in President Rodrigo Duterte’s home region, Mindanao; and in Metro Manila.

In Mindanao, 38% agreed there were many drug addicts in their area in June compared to 33% in March. In Metro Manila, those in agreement rose to 54% from 51% in March.

In the Visayas, the presence of many drug addicts fell by 4 points to 37% from 41% in March, and was hardly changed in Balance Luzon (40% from 39%).

Other findings

Among the other findings of the second quarter survey results are the following:

• Street robberies: There were fewer cases in all areas in the country except in Mindanao, where it rose by 2 points to 4.7% in June from 2.7% in March.
• Break-ins: There were fewer cases in Balance Luzon and Metro Manila but higher incidence in Visayas and Mindanao.
• Carnapping: There were zero cases in Metro Manila and the Visayas but more cases in Mindanao and Balance Luzon.
• Physical violence: There were less cases in Metro Manila, and zero cases in  Visayas and Mindanao.
• Fear of burglaries eases in Mindanao (42% from 54%), hardly changes in Visayas, but rises in Balance Luzon (58% from 52%) and Metro Manila (69% from 60%).
• Fear of unsafe streets falls in Mindanao (36% from 48%), hardly changes in the Visayas and Metro Manila, but rises in Balance Luzon (48% to 42%).
• There was a rise in the number of female victims of street robbery. Of the 4% who were victims of street robbery in June, 61% were women, higher by 2 points from March. 
• All victims of physical violence are men.

SWS said it employs its own staff for questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork, data-processing, and analysis, and does not outsource any of its survey operations. – Rappler.com