Malaysian Police must do more to fight crime

FROM police statistics it is clear that there is an increase in crime in this country. Even without the official statistics most people had concluded a long time ago from newspaper reports and from what they heard of robberies – some of them violent – snatch thefts and burglaries in their residential areas and in other areas that crime is on the rise. Such is the perception that many people are resigned to the fact that they can no longer rely completely on the police to ensure the security of their lives, their homes and their properties.

To many people the days when the streets in the residential areas were safe at all times are long gone. To them those halcyon days are gone simply because beat policemen who were familiar to residents of the areas they patrolled and whose presence alone reassured the residents of the security of their lives, their homes and their properties are gone.

The statistics released by Bukit Aman CID director Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin merely confirmed what many people have felt for a long time. For instance armed robberies have risen to 17,834 cases from January to October this year from a mere 3,691 cases for the same period last year.

Car thefts had increased by 2,534 cases from 10,290 cases and house break-ins by 2,732 cases from 19,299 cases. Murder cases have also risen to 538 cases from 489 cases, and rape cases had increased from 2,710 to 2,943. However we may look at it, these statistics are alarming and the government and the police must do much more to ensure that the figures for the number of cases of all types of crime are reduced significantly.

To say that all these figures compute to a mere 1.75% increase in the crime index is not reassuring enough. It cannot even be reassuring to say that the index is much lower than those in neighbouring countries. On the other hand, considering the increase in crime, it would be most reassuring should the police announce that they are recruiting more people, including more people from all races, to join the force. Shortage of manpower should no longer be an excuse.

At the same time, if the number of foreigners in the country is a factor in the rise in crime, better ways of recruiting them for our labour needs and supervising them need to be looked into. The country is probably paying quite a lot already because of the rise in crime in recent years.

Must the people pay too?

The Sun
12/12/08