KOTA KINABALU, April 21 — The number of crime cases is expected to increase in Sabah this year, said Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun.
He said this is based on the number of investigation papers that were opened by the police.
“We expect crime will increase this year. This is based on the number of investigation papers, or should I say all investigation papers relating to crime, were open for investigation.
“Take for example property crime, the number of property crime has increased because we do not based on the number of property losses incurred in the incident, but we now based on the number of investigation papers that were lodged by the public.
“This is because when a public lodged a police report, it means that they are afraid and want the police to help them, so we do not base our investigation on the value of losses but on the crime that was committed,” he said.
Jauteh said this after launching the Crime Prevention Carnival and Blood Donation Campaign in conjunction with the 217th Police Day celebration at Imago Shopping Mall here today.
Jauteh said by looking at the number of crime cases being committed, police were able to see a pattern of crime being committed and how it will be committed.
“By doing so, we are able to see a pattern of crime being committed in the future and from these findings, we are able to take the necessary action to tackle the crime rate in the state,” he said.
When asked to elaborate further on the crime pattern, he said having a crime pattern will enable the police to strategically plan their operation in tackling all sorts of crimes.
“So far in the last three months, we have seen the pattern but it is still not as accurate because it is still too early and we need more time to study it.
“But although police are studying the crime pattern, it does not mean that we are neglecting crime prevention, far from it.
“Through such a pattern, police have been able to collect valuable information which has led us to solve many crime related cases that not only took place such as in the state capital recently, but all the criminals have been arrested and charged in court.
“That’s why I said, although the number of crime cases has increased, the number of solved cases has also increased, which is what I said earlier that police now look at the pattern of crime being committed and from there, we are able to solve many of the crime cases.
“We do not look on the value of the property that were lost or stolen, but we now look at the number of police report lodged by the public because a police report lodged by the public means that they are mentally in fear as they have become a victim, so we need to understand the public and find a way to properly serve them.
“Hopefully through this strategy, we can reduce the number of crimes or stop it from happening in the future,” he said.
Present at the event were Sabah Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department head SAC Mohd Azhar Bin Hamin, Sabah Women’s and Children’s Hospital director Dr Marcus Netto, Universiti Malaysia Sabah Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Eunuch Mansoor and Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation chairman Tan Sri Goh Tian Chuan, J.P. — The Borneo Post
