PETALING JAYA, July 15 — The soon-to-be-launched Crime Perception Indicator (CPI) will help crime prevention and improve the efficiency of the enforcement authorities, say analysts and anti-crime groups.
Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said there was a need for the CPI as the fear of crime was serious.
“The enforcement agencies have embarked on efforts to reduce crime, and statistics back this up. But the public still feel the crime rate is alarming,” he said.
“The study will give a better insight to address the issue of perception, including on the integrity and accountability of enforcement agencies.”
It had been reported the public’s fear of crime would be used to draw up prevention strategies to fight criminals.
Lead investigator for the study on public perception of safety Associate Prof P. Sundramoorthy said the CPI would be used to grade enforcement agencies’ performance in protecting the people.
He said similar studies had only rated the fear towards crime, and what made the CPI unique was that crime prevention strategies would be formulated to look at how to strengthen law enforcement in reducing crime.
The first step of the study begins after Hari Raya when 5,000 to 10,000 people would be interviewed.
Social Care Foundation chairman Robert Phang said the questionable efficiency of enforcement authorities had put them in bad light.
“Perhaps 70 per cent or more of Malaysians will never believe crime has gone down, even if it has. This perception has to be challenged,” he said.
Phang said fighting crime was not enough and it needed participation from all walks of life.
“The authorities must extend the same support and facilities to all despite political standing so they can rally and get people to take part in crime prevention activities,” he said.
Crime analyst Kamal Affendi Hashim said the study could be used either for operational reasons or customer service and management.
“I hope the study will benefit the police and the public. There will be an imbalance if we are only focusing on the public and not what’s needed for the police to be more effective,” he said.
