Is KL Street crime really down by 45 per cent?

Dear all,

An interesting article to share:

By Elizabeth Zachariah, 22/7/2010

KUALA LUMPUR: The Rakan Cop programme has proved its worth with the ordinary man on the street by helping KL police to reduce street crime by at least 45 per cent in the first six months of this year. Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said 2,819 cases had been reported between January and June, this year compared with more thanover 5,000 cases during the same period last year. “This proves that the proactive efforts and interactive relationship between members of the public and the police have been fruitful,” he said at the launch of Rakan Cop with the Federal Territory Taxi Drivers and Operators Association on Tuesday.

He said taxi drivers played a crucial role in helping police fight crime as they had access to information on crime that had just happened. He said they could become the “eyes and ears” of police. However, KL police chief Deputy Commissioner of Police Datuk Wira Muhammad Sabtu Osman said only 7,000 of the 27,000 taxis in the city were equipped with radios. “I hope more taxis will be fitted with radios, ” he said, adding that the radios could help police disseminate information easily to taxi the drivers more efficiently. He said it was hard for the 7,000 police personnel to do their job because there were to cover the 4½ million residents in the city, including 2 million immigrants. “That is why we need the co-operation of the public to help us combat crime, especially street crime,” he said.

Sabtu said there were 364,152 Rakan Cop members nationwide, including 84,878 members here.

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles