Crime rates soar in Perak - Malaysian Insider

IPOH, July 7 — Crimes involving robbery, car theft and snatching in Perak has shot up in the first six months of this year, compared to the same period last year, said Perak chief police officer, Datuk Zulkefli Abdullah.

He said cases involving robbery increased by 197 cases from 541 cases in the first six months of last year to 739 cases this year, a 36 per cent hike.

“Police observation found that the jump was due to the economic slump along with unemployment,” he told reporters after the Chief Police Officer’s monthly gathering at the Perak Police Contingent Headquarters here today.

He said the criminals were also into drug abuse and their targets included 24-hour outlets, roadside stalls and housing areas.

Car theft from January to June this year went up from 55 for the whole of last year to 138 cases in the first six months alone this year, a jump of 150.91 per cent.

He said the cases of motorcycle theft also rose from 2,287 in the first six month period last year to 2,398 in the same period this year (a 4.85 per cent rise).

Zulkefli said snatching theft rose from 195 cases to 268 in the first half of the year, up 37.44 per cent. Most of the crimes occurred in the districts of Ipoh, Manjung, Taiping and Hilir Perak.

He was upset with the attitude of the people in the state, who did not provide information to the police about crimes in their area. He said the meet-the-people programmes at police stations held each Tuesday were not well received by the public.

“People only blame the police when there is a crime committed but when the police have a programme like meeting the clients there is poor response,” he said.

Zulkefli said the police also had a website (polisperak.rmp.gov.my/polis perak/index.html) to get feedback from the public on crimes. — Bernama