AUGUST 17 — The Department of National Unity and Integration (JPNIN) and Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) recently signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly fight crime and social ills.

The two agencies will forge a strategic partnership that will include sharing of information and holding joint events to enhance social security and harmony.

After JPNIN and MCPF signed the MoU, they will work together to provide training for Rukun Tetangga and Voluntary Patrol Scheme (SRS) members while organising joint community-level crime prevention activities.

In the meantime, the Rukun Tetangga programme under JPNIN and the SRS will also hold joint patrols at high-risk areas.

It is believed that the strategic partnership should help bring down crime rate, offering greater protection for the general public.

The crime issue has become a matter of serious concern among Malaysians as it entails the personal and property safety of individuals, and the relatively poor state of public security in this country has significantly alarmed the public.

Undeniably the situation has somewhat improved in recent years thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the government and PDRM, as crime rate falls gradually. Nevertheless, it is still a long way from the ultimate goal of a safe community and we still need the continued cooperation and effort from all quarters.

As the population rises and social network and structure become increasingly complicated, crime has taken on a more sophisticated turn. Under such circumstances, we can no longer depend on the police entirely to fight crime.

Owing to the limited resources, it is unrealistic for the police to implement total and effective surveillance against potential criminal activities nor dispatch sufficient personnel to collect large amounts of information.

The understaffing issue has long been existent in the country’s police force. With a population of 32 million, we only have slightly more than 120,000 police cops.

In view of this, PDRM requires the coordination from various agencies and organisations as well as members of the public in order to battle crime more effectively. As a matter of fact, the improved state of public security in recent years has been a consequence of such cooperation, which is proven effective.

What is important now is to further expand this model of cooperation so that more individuals will be able to participate in creating a safer living environment for us all.

This nevertheless does not mean the police will have to unload their duties of fighting crime and maintaining social order, which remain their utmost obligations and missions. If the other organisations and individuals would provide the much needed assistance in the form of useful information, for instance, it is set to double the effectiveness of the police’s crime-busting efforts.

We all have an obligation to help fight crime. Public security will definitely be boosted and our living environment remarkably safer if we work hand in hand with the police to fight crime. ­— Sin Chew Daily

* This article was first published here.

**This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisations and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.