“We are fortunate,” Senior Supt. Alexander Tagum, Davao City Police Office head told Edge Davao on Wednesday when asked about his reaction to Mayor Sara Duterte’s statement of gratitude for lowering the crime rate in city.
“DCPO can only do so much, for as long as it is being supported by our very supportive city mayor,” Tagum said.
He assured the public that they will not put down their guard after the appreciation of the mayor.
“I have been telling my commanders- we have not yet reached our peak of performance, we are still struggling in the middle part of our objective, and therefore we cannot afford to relax guard. I have been constantly warning them that if they cannot deliver on their expected service and protection delivery to our city, then they will be out rightly replaced by more capable and willing commanders, as I am also an expendable part of DCPO that expects to be relieved anytime should I fail my local chief executive. Our security efforts will always be on its peak. It is all manageable will all the full support given us by the city government unit headed by our mayor,” he said.
In a released statement on Wednesday, Mayor Sara Duterte commended the Davao City Police Office for its efforts to lower the rate of crime incidence in the city, through the implementation of various peace and security programs.
DCPO reported that there had been a 62.78 percent decrease in crime volume in the city from January to September compared to the 10,362 crimes recorded during the same period in 2015.
“I thank the men and women of DCPO for their continuous efforts to maintain the peace and order in the city so that the Dabawenyos can enjoy their daily activities here,” Duterte said.
She said the decrease in the crime volume in the city, which meant that more Dabawenyos had become safe, was because of the effective programs of the DCPO.
The DCPO said it also achieved a high Crime Solution Efficiency (CSE) at 86.26 percent during the first three quarters of the year. This was 7.9 percent higher than the CSE recorded from January to September 2015.
To further strengthen the security of the city, a new police sub-station on Roxas Avenue was being put up, mainly to provide security to the Roxas Night Market.
“Because of the influx of local and foreign tourists in our Roxas Night Market, we decided to put a sub-station there. It will be composed of 52 police personnel complete with equipment and a station commander,” she added.
