Crime happens all around us, and it is more than just the police's obligation to prevent crime, the public have an equally important role to play.

Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) vice chairman Tan Sri Datuk Lee Lam Thye said, the MCPF's objective is to educate the public on crime prevention with the hope of moulding a society with total civic awareness, to make the concept of crime prevention a prevalent culture that is deeply planted into the hearts of each and every individual.

"I'm not trying to alarm you, or to infuse anxiety into anyone, but the fact is crime takes place every minute around us. You must prevent it and cannot afford to let off your guards!"

Negligence spawns opportunities for crime

He cited an example. Whenever he stops in front of the traffic light, he would take a look around whether vehicles beside him have been properly locked. He noticed that most single-occupant vehicles are not locked, while lady drivers tend to leave their handbags on the passenger seat. Such negligent acts could invite crime, he added.

"While the perpetrators are despicable, we also have the obligation to help prevent the occurence of crime.

"Criminals are always on the lookout for opportunities to strike, and the public have the obligation and duty to protect themselves, their relatives and their own belongings.

"We must always alert ourselves not to give them any chance to even get near us."

Lee Lam Thye said the MCPF would distribute crime prevention fliers in four different languages in various places, not so much to help battle crime but to instill a crime prevention culture.

He said a person would get enhanced impression on crime prevention after reading the fliers a few times; and the more impression he gets, the more will it become a part of his living.

After successfully launching the Rakan Cop programme, the foundation will now revert back to its original objective of reawakening Malaysians' awareness on crime prevention.

The foundation aims to step up its crime prevention effort in 1,400 secondary schools across the country, and will launch neighbourhood and urban safety programmes in collaboration with its branches in various states.

Identifying the causes

With crimes rapidly on the rise, how should the public protect themselves?

Lee Lam Thye hoped the media would not play up some of the violent cases. Instead, they should report the cases on positive perspectives and explore in depth the root cause.

The police must also try to identify the reasons why a murderer has killed his victims, so that the public could gain a better insight into these people's inner minds.

Lee admitted that some of the crime statistics he has received show that crime is indeed steadily on the rise. He said the number of violent cases has increased to 12,654 during the first four months this year, from 10,733 during the corresponding period last year, with 45 people falling victim to crime for every 100,000 people.

"These figures really scare me off!"

Police reforms necessary

The RM6bn government allocation has more or less completely addressed the problem faced by the country's police force, and it is now time to implement genuine reforms in its execution effort.

Lee felt that there was still space for the police to implement reforms, and that there are bound to be black sheep in the midst of the 100,000-strong police force.

It is impossible for all police cops to be incorrupt, and educating them not to be corrupt or engage in acts that could have marred the sound reputation of the police force is therefore part and parcel of the long-term reform agenda.

He said he had visited many countries and seen the policemen there. He felt that the Royal Malaysian police lacks a positive professional image, adding that Malaysian policemen should possess noble characters, be polite and prompt in response to the people's plight. He said far-sighted and incorrupt police cops are indeed hard to come by in this country.

Poor PR

"Can our policemen compare with those in developed regional countries such as Singapore, Australia or Hong Kong? Sorry, I don't think so, at least not for the time being!

"Our cops have only received basic training and their mentality has not been rectified or finetuned. Their PR standards fail badly."

"When I was in Australia, my friend's car was stopped by a traffic cop owing to speeding. The cop first bowed down his head and apologised for disrupting our journey, and said he was compelled to issue us a summons ticket for speeding. I cannot forget how he repeatedly apologised, a phenomenon we would never expect ourselves to see back in Malaysia."

He said no one had expeceted our cops to apologise before issuing a ticket, but at least we don't want to see them putting on a haughty look.

He advised policemen to always remind themselves to serve the public with humility and incorruption.

He also suggested that the government drastically adjust the salaries of policemen every five years, as the soaring inflation has been a major burden to them.

He said only a well fed soldier would fight hard for the country, and only if the policemen's well-being is taken care of can we effectively reduce the likelihood of corruption.

Analyst: public security not too bad here

"The public security situation here is not too bad, as evidenced by the fact that many people still come out for mamak at three or four in the morning."

Crime analyst Kamal Effendi Hashim said if we were to compare crimes today from those in the past, what differs is not the numbers, but the way crimes have been committed.

He said criminals nowadays treat human lives as dirt, and always resort to violence to harm the victims in order to satisfy their lusts, adding that raping female victims is no longer new today.

He said the situation in Malaysia is nevertheless still manageable as compared to neighbouring Thailand or Indonesia.

Drug abuse the source of all evils

From his analysis, Kamal Effendi said drug abuse remains the major source of many criminal activities, and has become the predominant factor that has threatened Malaysia's public security.

He said drug abuse gives rise to a variety of crimes, and many drug addicts resort to criminal acts because they lack the money to acquire drugs.

"The occurence of crime has made the public feel that their living environment is no longer safe. This, coupled with the human tendency of making guesses instead of finding out the truth, has often caused the situation to be grossly exaggerated, resulting in widespread panic among the people."

Take the nude-squat incident for example, the public had assumed that the victim was a Chinese lady before investigations were even carried out. It was later proven that the victim was actually a Malay lady.

He said the rise in crime statistics could be due to actual increase in the number of crimes, but could also be due to the effects of crime prevention activities that have made more victims willing to lodge police reports, resulting in the higher number of cases.

Three types of victims

The first type of victims is incidental. For instance a group of robbers are mugging the pedestrians in the street; and when this happens, whether you have the crime prevention consciousness or not, you cannot escape the fate of being mugged.

The second type of victims is the target of organised or aforethought crimes, in which the perpetrators have beforehand gained sufficient information on the victims' backgrounds and lifestyle habits.

The third type of victims is the target of unguarded crimes, who think such crimes will only happen to other people and will therefore be caught in utter bewilderment and not understand why they have fallen victim to such crimes.

Kamal Effendi said many people have never thought of themselves as potential victims of crimes, as they think such crimes would only happen to other people.

He felt the government and police had put too much focus on crime reduction but overlooked the inculcation of public awareness on crime prevention.

"Since we can never completely wipe out crimes, it is therefore of utmost importance for the public to minimise the harms inflicted upon them when the criminals strike and to enhance their knowledge on crime prevention."

Stern actions needed to curb Mat Rempit

As for illegal street racers or Mat Rempit, Kamal Effendi said there are many factors that have given rise to this group of people, including drug abuse, influences from friends and lack of family care and relevant moral education.

He felt the failure of the public to tip the police has also attributed to increased racing activities among the emboldened youngsters.

"Other than pursuing excitement, they also try to prove their capability to their companions. Therefore, when the police are taking actions to round them up, they see it as a challenge, and will show off to their companions if they successfully avert police arrest."

He lamented that some parents have refused to take responsibility of their children's acts, blaming instead the school, society and government.

He said other than personal characters, external stimuli such as drug and alcohol have also inspired the racers to rob or snatch other people's belongings as well as inflicting injuries on their victims.

He said the police need sterner enforcement effort to effectively address the Mat Rempit issue, adding that even underaged violators of law should not be treated with excessive leniency. (Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)

Part 1: Where Is The Safe Place?
Part 2: The Fight Against Crime Is Everyone's Responsibility
Part 3: Finding The Clues
Part 4: Self Protection