PEMANDU: Crime dropped 10.1pc from January to May
UPDATED @ 09:31:40 AM 13-07-2012
Teh briefs reporters on the government’s efforts to combat crime, at its office in KL Sentral on July 12, 2012. — Picture by Saw Siow FengKUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — PEMANDU sought today to allay rising fears over the recent spate of violent crime cases, releasing fresh statistics that show the country’s index crime dipped by 10.1 per cent from January to May this year.
Pointing out that figures negate the current perception on crime, PEMANDU “Reducing Crime NKRA” director Eugene Teh appealed to the public to be “fair” to the police force and give its officers due recognition for their efforts.
“At the end of the day, the police are also humans. To be honest with you, they have been subjected to a lot of stress, whether from the ministry, the prime minister or the press.
“So if you recognise the effort, why not give them due recognition?” he told a media briefing here.
He said the country’s 115,000 police personnel were Malaysia’s “only option” to reduce crime in the country.
“At the end of the day, we are the beneficiaries,” he pointed out.
According to figures released today, index crime dropped 10.1 per cent to 63,221 cases between January and May this year from the 70,343 cases recorded in the corresponding period last year.
Street crimes dropped 43 per cent to 9,287 cases in the same period, down from 16,294 cases recorded in 2009.
Index crimes include property theft (theft, snatch theft, vehicle theft, machinery theft, house break-in) and violent crimes (robbery assault, rape and murder) while street crimes are classified as snatch theft, robbery without firearms and gang robbery without firearms.
PEMANDU had earlier released figures to show that index crime had dropped by 11.1 per cent from 2010 to last year, while street crime dipped 39.7 per cent in the same period.
Teh said the reduction was further supported by external validations from foreign pollsters, including the latest Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) survey, which showed that public fear of crime in Malaysia dropped 3.9 per cent, from 58.5 per cent in December 2009 to 54.6 per cent in May this year.
The Global Peace Index has also rated Malaysia the safest and most peaceful country in Southeast Asia, the fourth in Asia Pacific and the 20th in the world.
But despite the figures, Teh added that there was a “disconnect” between the public’s perception of crime and the actual figures.
“Changes in perception do not immediately follow changes on the ground. And even when people fear crime less and perception changes, the change is slower than the actual reduction of cases,” he said.
When pointed to the recent spate of reports on violent crime cases, Teh said he “thinks” it may be true that there has been an increase in such categories of crime of late before adding that the police were looking into the matter.
He said PEMANDU is also considering the release of detainees previously held under the Emergency Ordinance as one of the possible reasons for the recent spike.
“Let me be honest — this fear has even gotten to me. Previously, when I watch a movie in Cineleisure, I would just watch the midnight movie then go home. But in the last few months, I am more alert,” he said.
