SWS: Families victimized by common crimes down in Q3
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2019 13:42:25 +0000
ABOUT 1.4 million families fell victim to common crimes in the past six months, according to the third quarter survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The poll from September 27 to 30 among 1,800 Filipino adults nationwide showed 5.6 percent of families being victimized by pickpocketing or robbery, break-ins, car theft, and of physical violence.
This is 1.4 points higher than the 7.0 percent or 1.7 million families reported in June 2019, and is the lowest since the 5.3 percent in June 2018.
“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,” SWS said.
Since 1989, 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 that was specifically monitored.
“Victimization by common crimes reported in SWS surveys is much higher than the number of crimes actually reported to the police,” the polling firm said.
According to the same survey, 3.4 percent or an estimated 846,000 Filipino families reported getting victimized by property crimes such as street robbery, burglary, and carnapping within the past six months, down by 1.0 point from 4.4 percent or an estimated 1.1 million in June.
The survey also showed 2.6 percent or an estimated 640,000 families were victimized by break-ins, while 0.3 percent or an estimated 40,000 families owning any type of motor vehicle were robbed in the past six months.
About 0.5 percent or an estimated 133,000 families said they were victims of physical violence in the past six months, down by 0.7 points from 1.2 percent or an estimated 287,000 in June.
The September survey also found 59 percent of Filipino adults fearful of burglary, 47 percent fearful of walking the streets at night, 38 percent noticing many drug addicts in the neighborhood.
The survey, which was released on Wednesday, had sampling error margins of ±2.3 percent for national percentages, ±4 percent each for Balance Luzon and Mindanao, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila and the Visayas. CATHERINE S. VALENTE