Philippine National Police Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management Essay

Crime is inevitable, it occurs every day and it might be even happening right now. It is a nuisance and it greatly affects the society. People has their own reason for doing this kind of atrocity, it is a common understanding that if a person is without a job, he/she wouldn’t gain income, without income, he/she wouldn’t be able to buy their everyday needs, and without the basic needs he/she wouldn’t be able to survive, thus leaving him/her desperate for money, doing anything they can to get it, even if it means to commit a crime, crimes that might endanger the lives of others. The crime rate in the Philippines has been reduced more than 15 percent in the first three months compared with the same period last year regardless of the recent slew of high-profile urban crimes, as said by the late Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo. For the first quarter of the year 2012, the national crime volume declined by 11,219 cases, a drop of 16. 7 percent from a year ago, and Based on reports submitted to him by Chief Superintendent Alex Paul Monteagudo, Philippine National Police Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (PNP-DIDM) chief, the PNP’s national crime solution efficiency rate for the first quarter of 2012 stood at 34. 38 percent, slightly better than the 25. 84 percent efficiency rate for the same period last year, this means that crimes are given justice more often than left unsolved. Evidently, crime rates are responsive to local labor market conditions. Surprisingly, little attention has been given by economists on whether crimes committed by optimizing individuals respond to labor market opportunities. Most recent research has been focused on the effects of criminal justice sanctions. However, most of the researches attempting to measure the effect of the labor market on crime are represented by studies linking unemployment and crime. (Patalinhung, 2011) Unemployment in the country dropped from an estimate of 13. million individuals in the first quarter of the year 2012 to 10. 9 million individuals in the second quarter, according to a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations, this is a proof of improvement in the labor force of the Philippines. However, more than half, or 51. 2 percent of unemployed Filipinos, were in 15-to-24 age group, which only validates the difficulty faced by fresh graduates looking for work, said Rene Ofreneo of the School of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of the Philippines. According to National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) as of October 2012, the Labor Force Participation Rate is 63. 9% of the total population; this means that 36. 1% of the total population is either voluntary or in-voluntary unemployed. Freeman (1982, 1995, and 1999) concluded that unemployment had the expected positive impact on crime, but the magnitude of the impact was modest. Thus, the existing studies on unemployment rate to measure labor market prospects of potential criminals may not be so insightful. Gross National Income per capita may also contribute to the changes of Crime rate in the Philippines, since it determines the total value of good and service that an individual and includes the net factors from abroad. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is confident that the country’s per capita income which is one of the lowest among emerging Asian economies, will significantly improve and may match those of its neighbors over the medium term. BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said ongoing government efforts, such as higher spending on infrastructure and social services would eventually help spread the benefits of economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether Unemployment Rate, Labor Force Participation Rate and Gross National Income per capita has an impact on the changing Crime Rate in the Philippines, the researcher hypothesized that Unemployment Rate has a positive relationship with Crime Rate and both Labor Force Participation Rate and Gross National Income per capita has a negative relationship with Crime Rate.