Sabah crime up 15pc in 2008

KOTA KINABALU: The crime rate in Sabah last year went up by 14.98 per cent to 9,048 cases, from 7,869 in 2007.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim, said the most common type of crime was petty theft with 3,465 cases, accounting for 38.29 per cent of the total.

“This was followed by burglary at 18 per cent and gang robbery at 9 per cent,” he told reporters after the monthly Sabah police gathering at the state police contingent headquarters here today.

Violent crime like rape, murder and robbery collectively totalled 2,000 cases, up 22.1 per cent from 1,919.

Noor Rashid added that the rising incidence of rapes was of concern, with 240 cases last year or a 17.65 per cent increase. Most of the rape cases involved victims who were underage, he said, and the majority of the reports were made in Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, Beaufort, Sandakan and Tawau.

Areas which recorded the highest number of cases last year were Kota Kinabalu with 3,604 cases, Tawau (1,271 cases), Penampang (835 cases), Sandakan (692 cases), Lahad Datu (504 cases) and Labuan (323 cases).

Although the crime rate in the state went up last year, Noor Rashid said, the crime solving rate also improved, going up by 0.6 percentage points to 37.62 per cent.

Meanwhile, things were looking up for the first 11 days of the new year, with a 18 per cent drop in the crime rate compared to the same period last year, in line with the drive to reduce crime in Sabah.

“Among the police strategies this year is to improve the response time. For example, if the response time in Kuala Lumpur or other places is 15 minutes, we have to reduce it to 10 minutes.

“Police presence will also be stepped up with more police car patrols, having effective communication between police personnel and the public and having discussions with non-governmental organisations and community leaders.

“Our approach should be multi-prong,” Noor Rashid added.

Bernama
12.01.09

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