KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) commended the police for reducing the street crime rate by 35 per cent and the general index crime by 15 pre cent in the first year of implementation of their transformational approach to address crime and safety.
However, MCPF vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said in terms of the public’s fear of becoming a victim of crime, there is still work to be done as a recent independent survey indicated that some 52.9 per cent of those surveyed are still fearful of crime.
Despite the success, he said the police should relentlessly pursue anti-crime agenda and put in even greater efforts to fight crime on all fronts with the fullest participation of the public.
With the present economic uncertainties, Lee said the aggravating drug problem and the criminal behavior of those who crave for ill-gotten gains as well as the presence of illegal immigrants, the crime scenario is obviously not going to get better.
“This is a challenging time for the police as a law enforcer and it must use every means at its disposal to fight crime and protect the public.
“The occurrence of crime is a reminder that the people must never take their safety and security for granted.
“That crime still remains the biggest concern among Malaysians is not surprising given the fact that those involved in the survey could have at some time been the victims of crime or whose relatives or close friends had been the target of criminals. Reading daily crime news in the media could also have resulted in shaping that perception,” he pointed out in a statement yesterday.
“We should not look at this development negatively from the point of crime prevention. On the contrary it must be viewed positively.
“The fact that crime is a major concern for Malaysians is a reflection of the growing public consciousness of the need to fight crime and to adopt a zero tolerance approach towards crime.
“It also indicates that Malaysians want to see more efforts to tackle crime and that they are not taking crime lightly,” he added.
According to Lee, the MCPF welcomes this development and wishes to see this growing concern for crime translated into greater public participation and involvement in crime prevention programmes and activities organised by the foundation.
More Malaysians of all races could and should be actively involved in crime prevention activities in their communities and neighbourhood.
More and more crime conscious Malaysians should come forward to participate in crime-prevention programmes and activities initiated by either their own residents associations, trade organisations or any other NGOs to increase their awareness about what could and should be done to prevent crime.
The ultimate objective is to instill or inculcate a crime-prevention culture among members of the community so that no one will take safety for granted.
In the area of crime, public perception is important. We have to be constantly conscious of how the public perceive crime and ways in which we can help not only to build positive public perception but also for the police to earn public trust and confidence by proving that our force is truly professional and discharge its role with integrity.
In this connection the MCPF is assisting the police to address the issue of public perception by organising visits to selected police stations in every state throughout the country and listen to the public regarding the performance of these stations.
The purpose of the visits is to bring the public and the police together and bridge the communication gap between the police and the public.
Secondly the foundation’s executive council representatives will be able to touch base and listen first hand the comments, complaints or suggestions of the public towards the police in their respective areas. So far the public feedback is generally positive although certain areas may need improvement.
The MCPF believes that by having more public-police engagement it will certainly help to address the issue of negative perception and help to put things right.
Based on the public feedback, the MCPF will honour the best police stations based on their outstanding performance by presenting them with special awards.
Crime today affects all races and does not distinguish race and gender. As such it is time for all Malaysians to stay focused in their determination to fight crime.
Fighting crime begins with crime prevention awareness, and the need to be always sensitive to our surroundings.
In short the public must always be vigilant, never take safety for granted, do not provide opportunities for crime to occur and heighten awareness about crime prevention.
In this connection, continuous efforts must be made to reduce crime, lessen the fear of crime and create safer cities and towns where economic enterprises and community alike can flourish.