KUALA LUMPUR: The use of the police’s Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP) mobile app contributed to a drop in the nationwide crime index in 2018.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the crime rate saw a decline of 11.9% last year as compared with the previous year.
“A total of 88,662 cases were reported last year compared with 100,611 cases in 2017. Some 1.2 million VSP users as of Dec 31 last year were one of the contributing factors in the decrease of the crime index nationwide,“ he told reporters after the monthly assembly at Bukit Aman police headquarters, here today.
He hoped the police could reach at least 1.5 million VSP users this year.
Mohamad Fuzi also pointed out that since its launch on March 25, 2017, the response from the public had been encouraging. This proved that public awareness in crime prevention efforts was high, he said.
“We believe this is due to the excellent work in terms of crime prevention led by the Bukit Aman Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department (JPJKK) and the CID,“ he added.
The phone app received 60,552 police reports, of which 59,945 cases saw action taken.
“A total of 49,187 complaints have been listed for immediate action, 10,874 under non-immediate action and the remaining 491 complaints pending action,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Motorcycle Patrol Unit (URB) and the Mobile Patrol Vehicle (MPV) have also screened more than a million individuals and vehicles, issued 174,432 summonses and arrested 2,671 people for multiple offences last year.
On a separate matter, Mohamad Fuzi assured that the police were investigating the case of former DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock’s death and that there was no cover-up in their probe.
He said the police were in the midst of going through several recommendations provided by the Attorney-General’s Chamber (AGC).
On Jan 11, Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin denied an alleged cover-up in investigations into the probe.
Teoh, the former political aide to DAP’s Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead in 2009 after falling nine floors from the former Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Shah Alam, where he had been held overnight for questioning.
He also refuted allegations that the police were taking too long to investigate the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.
Muhammad Adib had died as a result of injuries sustained during a riot at a temple in Seafield, USJ on Nov 27 last year.
