Crime Rate During COVID-19 Pandemic in Diffun, Quirino

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is definitely the one of the worldwide

pandemics that affected us all. To exaggerate, the said pandemic is unquestionably one of the

most significant worldwide events in recent history, impacting culture, government operations,

crime, economics, politics, and social interactions for the foreseeable future.

The stay-at-home orders were issued worldwide in attempt to slow the spread of the

virus. Degree and timing in its implementation vary between countries and states. Exception to

this was provided to workers who were deemed “essential,” such as those in the fields of

medicine, finance, public safety, food production, transportation, and in other miscellaneous

industries do not have to abide by these orders to the degree to which the general public did.

Stickle et.al. (2020) summarized the result of their study that the pandemic has impacted

the world in ways not seen in generations. Initial evidence suggests one of the effects is crime

rates, which appear to have fallen drastically in many communities around the world. We argue

that the principal reason for the change is the government ordered stay-at-home orders, which

impacted the routine activities of entire populations. Because these orders impacted countries,

states, and communities at different times and in different ways, a naturally occurring, quasi-

randomized control experiment has unfolded, allowing the testing of criminological theories as

never before. Using new and traditional data sources made available as a result of the pandemic

criminologists are equipped to study crime in society as never before. We encourage researchers
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to study specific types of crime, in a temporal fashion (following the stay-at-home orders), and

placed-based. The results will reveal not only why, where, when, and to what extent crime

changed, but also how to influence future crime reduction.

National Economic and Development Authority, (2017) recognized in the Philippine

Development Plan of 2017–2022 that decreasing crime incidences is a strategy to promote and

maintain public order and internal stability

Monzon (2014) cited an observation that the Philippines has experienced a decrease in

total reported crime volume throughout the years 2010–2012. However, in 2013, total crime

volume in the Philippines increased. Furthermore, total crime volume was reported to be 289,198

from January to May 2014, which already is a 17.8% increase in criminal activity in comparison

to the reported crimes of the same period of the previous year. This increase in reported crimes

might not necessarily mean increased criminal activities and tendencies among the constituents,

but rather due to better record keeping and reporting implemented by the Philippine National

Police.

This study generally aims at identifying the comparison of the crime rate before and

during the COVID-19 pandemic in the municipality of Diffun.

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Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the comparison of the crime rate before and during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the municipality of Diffun.

Specifically, the study aims to seek answer to the following questions:

1. What is the number of different crimes filed in the Municipal Trial Court (MTC)

and Regional Trial Court (RTC) in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 in the municipality

of Diffun classified as follows:

a. Index Crimes; and

b. Non-Index Crimes?

2. What is the percentage change in the number of reported crimes each year, 2019,

2020

and 2021 in the municipality of Diffun classified as follows:

a. Index Crimes; and

b. Non-Index Crimes?

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Objectives of the Study

This study generally aims at comparing the crime rate before and during the COVID-19

pandemic in the municipality of Diffun.

Specifically, it will be conducted to:

1. Identify the number of different crimes filed in the Municipal Trial Court (MTC)

and Regional Trial Court (RTC) in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 in the municipality

of Diffun classified as index crimes and non-index crimes.

2. Determine the percentage change in the number of reported crimes each year, 2019,

2020 and 2021 in the municipality of Diffun classified as as index crimes and non-

index crimes.

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Significance of the Study

It is very significant to determine the comparison of the crime rate before and during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the municipality of Diffun.

This study would be beneficial to the following:

Community. The results of this study will be provide them information on the present

crime situation/trend in the municipality.

Government Units. The results of this study will make them aware of the present

situation and provide them overview of the importance of their efforts and motivate them

in dealing with the COVID-19 situation.

IATF-EID.  The results of this study will make them aware to the extent of importance

of the implemented lockdowns and community quarantines, hence a basis for further

decisions.

Future Researchers. This paper will serve as a reference data for researchers who will

conduct similar or related study.

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Theoretical Framework

Understanding the roots of crimes can help explain why crimes are committed and may

put light on how they should be handled and prevented. There are several theories of crimes

trying to explain the elements that make people turn to a life of crime. The rational choice theory

explains that the criminals select specific targets based on vulnerability such as the elderly

citizens, unguarded premises, or lack of police presence (Jennings & Beaudry‐Cyr, 2014;

McCarthy & Chaudhary, 2014). The biological basis of crime has gained acceptance in the

society for the past decade due to recent scientific developments in molecular genetics and

advances in brain imaging demonstrating that many behaviors have genetic basis (Raine, 2013).

Both of these theories recognize crime as an individual problem that does not involve the entire

community.

This study also uses tha social disorganization theory by Kubrin and Weitzer (2003) as

one which focuses on the effects of “kinds of places” in creating conditions for propelling or

deterring crime. Poverty, residential mobility, ethnic heterogeneity within a neighborhood was

stated to hinder its capacities in controlling the behavior of people and thus, leading to increased

likelihood of crime. These findings were supported by Marco et al. (2017) that suggest that

neighborhood characteristics such as concentrated disadvantage, immigration, and residential

instability are associated with crime and violence. Concentrated disadvantage pertains to

negative features of an area, such as poverty, unemployment, and low income. As to how these

variables affect crime in neighborhoods, several explanations for this theory have been made.

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One explanation is that social inequality highlighted in communities inhabited by the poor and

the rich in close proximity creates an atmosphere of hostility which subsequently encourages

crime (Cole & Gramajo, 2009; Lyman & Potter, 2007). Another explanation is that hindrance

from opportunities for success increases likelihood for certain individuals to commit crime.

Cloward and Ohlin’s argument on differential opportunity (as cited on Lyman & Potter, 2007)

suggests that many lower-class male adolescents have general beliefs that their position in the

socio-economic structure is fixed and thus, creating conditions conducive for crime, particularly

recruitment into organized crime. Furthermore, Taylor, Walton, and Young (as cited on Lyman

& Potter, 2007) argued that in an area where opportunities for success are unequally distributed,

the tendency is for those blocked of opportunity to resort to illegitimate means of obtaining

success.

Conceptual Framework

. INPUT
PROCESS OUTPUT
Crime Data from
MTC and RTC Crime Rate in
Comparative
Analysis of the Diffun before and
 Index Crimes
Recorded Data during the COVID-
 Non-Index
19 pandemic
Crimes

Figure 1: Paradigm showing the relationship among variables.

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 Figure 1 shows the relationship of input variables which contains the crime data from

MTC and RTC. In the process is comparative analysis of the recorded data and interviews. The

output contains the crime rate in Diffun before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

Langton et.al. (2021) presented that in recent months after the onset of the pandemic,

studies have emerged internationally which have helped establish the extent to which crime and

calls to police during lockdowns have deviated from expected trends. In some cases, studies

report unexpected or conflicting findings. This appears to be, at least in part, attributable to the

short time frames being studied and limitations in the data being used.

For instance, Payne and Morgan (2020) reported no shift in violent crimes recorded in

Queensland, Australia, but note that the impact of changes in mobility may not yet have come to

fruition during the short study period. Similarly, Hawdon et al. (2020) found that cyber-routines

and cyber victimization remained unchanged, but measurements were taken early in the

pandemic. Studies have also reported no change (Shayegh and Malpede 2020), short-term spikes

(Piquero et al. 2020) and increases (Mohler et al. 2020) in domestic violence. Such issues

showcase the challenges of understanding crime during lockdown ‘on the fy’, especially when

relying on a single data source, which has typically originated from police-recorded crime

databases and covered short time periods.

Nivette et. al (2020) conducted their study to examine the extent to which stay-at-home

restrictions in 27 cities in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia were associated with a
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change in levels of six types of police-recorded crime. The cities represent a large variation of

measures relating to stay-at-home restrictions. They range from mostly voluntary

recommendations to avoid public space (for example, Malmö and Stockholm in Sweden) to a

complete halt of all but the most essential activities, based on emergency legislation and

enforced by substantial penalties for breaching the rules (for example, Lima in Peru). This allows

us to move significantly beyond previous studies conducted in single cities to evaluate the

generalizability of criminogenic processes triggered by stay-at-home restrictions.

The findings show that the stay-at-home policies were associated with a substantial drop

in urban crime. On average, the overall reduction in crime levels across all included cities was

−37%. They suggest that the sudden decline in urban mobility triggered by the stay-at-home

policies reduced opportunities and increased guardianship relating to many high-volume crimes.

In other words, as expected by economic and criminological opportunity theories, we found

strong evidence that crime levels respond quickly to changing opportunity structures and

constraints, and that change in crime levels does not necessarily require large-scale changes in

offender motivation15. At least in the short run, the change in routine activities rather than the

increase in psychological and social strains was the dominating mechanism that affected change

in overall crime levels. We did not find evidence for or against displacement effects in the sense

of a shift from one type of crime to another within the categories of crime covered in this paper.

However, the lack of high-quality comparable data means that we could not examine the

possibility that a substantial amount of coercive and property crime moved online, parallel to the

sudden shift in daily routine activities.

Langton et al. (2020) then concluded in their study that twelve out of fourteen offense

categories experienced significant declines upon the introduction of lockdown guidelines,

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followed by a resurgence as restrictions were relaxed. That said, the severity of this ‘bounce

back’ varied between crime types. Evidence suggests that residential crimes, in particular, may

not return to normality for some time, if at all. Other common crimes, such as robbery and

violence (including sexual offenses) experienced a rapid return to normality. Findings appear to

be consistent with expectations from the opportunity structure of crime. That said, dramatic

increases in drug crimes and ASB may not be directly attributable to meaningful changes in

criminal behavior. Tis demonstrates the nuances in using police-recorded crime data to study the

lockdown as a natural experiment. It is possible to offer some informed speculation about what

the future holds. Te mobility theory of crime in the pandemic with which this study is consistent

suggests that further iterations of national and local lockdown will cause further national and

local declines in most recorded crimes. The magnitude of the crime effect is likely to match the

severity of the lockdown restrictions and their impact on mobility. Further, a post-pandemic era

seems unlikely to see crime return to the levels expected absent a pandemic. With mobility a key

determinant of crime opportunity rates, if ‘work at home’, online shopping and other lifestyle

changes continue at higher rates, we might expect commensurate effects upon crime in the

longer-term.

The United Nations Union on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) related that the changes

caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting all aspects of life, with crime being no

exception. This research brief is aimed at providing initial observations about the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic on four types of crime: homicide, robbery, theft and burglary. Based on

ongoing data collection launched by UNODC in March 2020, trends before and after lockdown

measures were introduced are compared in order to assess whether the measures have had a

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significant impact on those crimes. The possible longer-term impact of the emerging global

economic crisis on the same forms of crime is also discussed.

The insight provided by the national and regional data analyzed in this research brief

shows that the unprecedented changes related to the pandemic differ by type of crime, by country

or region and over time. Given the paucity of the data and the heterogeneity of the emerging

dynamics, this brief is focused on illustrative country and regional examples without drawing

conclusions on the global impact of COVID-19 measures on the crimes in question. The

resulting observations can serve as a starting point for further data analyses and for informing

programme delivery in the field of crime prevention.

Eisner et.al (2020) concluded in their study that from a theoretical point of view,

lockdown measures can trigger different dynamics, with the predominant trend likely to depend

on a variety of factors, including the nature of the restrictions, the socioeconomic support

provided by Governments to overcome the challenges and pre-existing conditions in terms of

crime and governance. In general, a reduction in certain types of crime can be expected in

conditions of strict confinement due to the subsequent reduction in opportunities to commit

crime. As opposed to opportunity reduction, strain is expected to manifest itself well after the

introduction of lockdowns and curfews, as people become negatively affected by dire economic

circumstances caused by the lockdown and may begin to lose faith in government measures to

contain the pandemic. The impact of the latter causal mechanism is likely to have a more long-

lasting effect, even after lockdown measures are lifted.

The New York Times published that the sudden and unexpected, the COVID-19

pandemic has disrupted the lives of people everywhere, presumably including those of members

of criminal gangs and criminal organizations. At the beginning of the pandemic, although
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countries needed time to produce and release comparable statistics on lethal violence, the

international media was already publishing anecdotal evidence of sudden changes in homicide. 5

The initial evidence suggested heterogeneous trends, not only across but also within countries.

Now, some 10 months since the onset of the pandemic, monthly data from 21 countries in

different regions around the world can help improve understanding of the effect of the COVID-

19 pandemic on homicide in the months after lockdown measures were put in place. That data

shows that in 7 out of 10 countries where monthly trends could be compared, the decrease in

homicide during March/April 2020 was more than 25 per cent larger than the average recorded

during the same months over the period 2015– 2019.

Hale et. al. (2020) proved in their study that when socioeconomic development and

population movement are analyzed together, available data indicate that property crime

decreased both in middle-income and high-income countries, with the decrease being stronger in

countries with less population movement. These results suggest that in both middle-income and

high-income countries, a large part of the observed change in crime was linked to lockdown

measures. Due to a lack of data from low-income countries, it is not possible to assess whether

there was a similar short-term effect in countries where a large share of the population is living

in poverty and where restrictive measures are not always a viable option if basic needs are to be

met.

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 Chapter III

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study is a quantitative, descriptive research which Aliaga and Gunderson (2002)

described as an inquiry into a sociable problem, describe phenomena by gathering numerical data

that are analyzed using mathematically structured methods e. g. in particular statistics.

Descriptive research is an appropriate choice when the research aim is to identify characteristics,

frequencies, trends, and categories.

For this study, the researcher will use the collected recorded data of crimes filed in the

MTC and RTC to determine the crime rate during COVID-19 pandemic compared before the

pandemic. in Diffun, Quirino.

Sample and Sampling Procedure

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 This study will use purposive and selective sampling, a technique that qualitative

researchers use to recruit participants who can provide in-depth and detailed information about

the phenomenon under investigation. It is highly subjective and determined by the qualitative

researcher generating the qualifying criteria each participant must meet to be considered for the

research study.

For this research study, the PNP personnel will be the respondents from which the

recorded data of crime filed before and during the pandemic will be acquired.

Scope and Limitations

The municipality of Diffun is composed of 33 barangays manned by _____ police

deployed in Diffun MPS. The present ratio of police to the population is ____. The focus of the

study is the record of crime filed before and during the pandemic in Diffun, Quirino.

Research Instrument

This study will use a self-made questionnaire to acquire the needed data for the crimes

filed in Diffun MTC and in the RTC-Quirino during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of

crimes per classification will be acquired from the present data from the year 2019, 2020 and

2021. From the data, the percentage change in the number of reported crimes before and during

the COVID-19 pandemic in the municipality of Diffun will be deduced that will explain the

comparison of the crime rate before and during the pandemic period.

Data Gathering Procedure

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 In the course of making this study when restrictions on face-to-face communication and

travel are still implemented, the social media platforms for communication are in demand.

However, for this study the face-to-face interaction will be done following the required safety

protocol and with the guidance and approval of the respondents, the Diffun MTC and the RTC-

Quirino.

Treatment of Data

Quantitative data analysis will be employed in this study. Calculation for the crime rate is

done by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population multiplied by 100. The

population data for each year were obtained from the filed cases in the Diffun MTC and RTC-

Quirino. The volumes of index and non-index crimes will be compared, respectively. Percentage

breakdown of crimes by classification per year will also be obtained.

Ethical Considerations

Aware that it is essential to consider ethical issues in the conduct of a study, such is set

by the researchers. They give assurance to be accountable and responsible to all the foregoing

and results of the study. The data derived from the respondents will be treated with

confidentiality. Furthermore, approval from the Chief of Police of Diffun MPS will be acquired

to evident that the participation in this study will be voluntary. Personal feelings and opinions

will be set aside for the better result of the study.

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