NOWADAYS, reports abound about people being mugged in broad daylight along the streets and sidewalks, in shopping malls and near banks in Kuching city.
There are even reports of snatch thieves striking at residential areas where people were robbed after alighting from their cars to open their driveway gates, and often left bloodied and badly hurt.
The frequent occurrence of such stick-ups tends to give the impression that Kuching city has become a crime-prone area.
Mugging victims were often seriously injured when they tried to fight off their attackers. The unlucky ones ended up dead as had happened to some female victims who were violently dragged to ground by their assailants.
The so-called Kuching’s Golden Triangle and its vicinity used to be the preferred haunts of snatch thieves and most attacks occurred there but now, the street thugs appear to have spread to other parts of the city and will obviously continue to enlarge their territory.
While tourists to our city, touted in travel brochures as a clean and safe destination, are frequently being targetted, locals, particularly defenceless women walking by themselves in downtown Kuching near supposedly safe tourist belts and banking centres, are not spared the condemnable acts of snatch thieves either.
Public concern is not only over the lack of surveillance but also preventive action in the ‘black’ areas. If enforcement is consistent and effective, there is no reason why the perpetrators, who are often armed, cannot be brought to book — in which case shoppers, and generally, office workers who have to walk some distance to their work place, would at least feel at ease using the city streets.
However, surveillance and patrols by law enforcement alone may not be enough to provide the answer to the problem. There is a real need to address the root causes such as why groups or individuals are resorting to snatch theft – and is there any effective way to curb it?
Besides, it is also good to find out why more and more people are perpetrating street crimes in such a brazen manner, thumbing their nose at law enforcement by committing robbery in broad daylight at public places and seemingly at will.
No doubt, the authorities are aware of the problem and taking action. But the question is whether the action taken is adequate. Perhaps more uniformed personnel can be deployed to the notorious areas since their presence there will go a long way to deterring would-be criminals.
Of late, the police have reminded the public to be careful with their belongings when shopping at Ramadan bazaars or crowded places as thieves are drawn to such places looking for potential prey.
The advice followed an incident earlier in the week where a snatch thief grabbed the camera of a pressman, covering the on-goings at the bazaar in Satok, and quickly blended into the crowd. There might have been other cases that have gone unreported.
Patently, no matter how much care people take to safeguard against robbery at packed shopping areas, the reality is that they still get robbed.
Hence, it’s reasonable to ask how careful must one be to avoid getting robbed and what is law enforcement doing to prevent this from happening at such places?
Indeed, there is a long standing public request for the police to deploy men to busy areas such as Ramadan bazaars and other crowded shopping areas to deter muggers, snatch thieves and pick-pockets but this has never been seriously followed up due to lack of manpower.
A news report at mid-week quoted the Kuching police as saying “although there were police beats near the (Ramadan) bazaars, only a few were manning them, so the public had to stay vigilant.”
Going by the foregoing, the lack of protection provided by the police against bat hats in such areas is due to inadequate manpower which seems to be a perennial problem with law enforcement.
And to overcome the shortfall, the public are being asked to “stay vigilant” – in essence, taking on the responsibility of providing their own security against prowling criminals when out shopping at festive bazaars and similar venues. Is this the way to go?
Some quarters are even viewing snatch theft as a petty crime. It clearly is not. How can it be when victims often get badly hurt and some had even been killed in the attack.
Ultimately, the bottom line is still to examine what lie behind many of today’s social ills, in particular crimes such as mugging, hooliganism, house-breaking and more ominously, snatch theft committed in broad daylight and in full public view.
But for the immediate purpose, stepped up police presence in areas such as the on-going festive bazaars and other packed shopping places where crime has been reported to have taken place, will no doubt be welcomed by the public.