National crime index down by 2.7%: Deputy IGP

MALACCA: The national crime index from January to yesterday dropped by 2.7%, with 112,000 cases compared to 115,225 during the corresponding period last year, said Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim (pix).
He said the decline was a result of proactive measures taken by the police with the cooperation of others, especially the people, in combating crime.
"It will be less impactful if the police were to solve crimes alone. We will only maximise the impact if (we) can get members of the public to discuss and plan how to deal with the current crime cases.
"To me, this is the approach that we're implementing continuously and it is also among the approaches (being implemented) by the developed countries," he told reporters after closing the 'Modern Crime Prevention Strategy and Technology Expo' seminar at Bandar Hilir here today.
Also present were Bukit Aman (Federal Police) Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department deputy director (operations) Datuk Zainal Abidin Kasim and Malacca Police chief Datuk Ramli Din.
Noor Rashid said the force was now planning to implement a more effective crime prevention process via "community policing" which incorporated the expertise of the police, educators and community leaders.
"We will work harder next year to reduce the crime index by five per cent but this will only be possible with the cooperation of the people," he said.
He said the federal police had been working with the Melaka police and carried out various initiatives to monitor the crime activities in the state.
"Apart from (the existing) police personnel in Melaka, other police personnel from outside the state, especially from Bukit Aman, have also participated in the crime prevention duty on weekends and public holidays.
"We're helping in terms of patrol with the deployment of the Federal Reserve Unit, the mounted unit and the General Operations Force to prevent crime in the city of Malacca," he said. — Bernama