June 16, 2015
WHEN it comes to early morning jogs, both the authorities and the joggers have to do their part to avoid being a target for criminal acts.
Some have also called for the increase of manpower in the police force to help curb crime.
Non-governmental organisation Ipoh City Watch president Dr Richard Ng said going jogging in the early hours of the morning was generally not safe as it was still dark.
“Some of the things authorities can do, such as the Ipoh City Council, is to make sure there is enough lighting in public parks such as Polo Ground.
“They can also install CCTVs along the entire walkway of the park, and assign enforcement officers to keep an eye out for suspicious-looking people,” he said.
As for the police, Dr Ng said they could assign members from their police volunteer unit to go around the park.
“Polo Ground is such a popular place among joggers, and I’m sure that it’s the same among snatch thieves when they want to look for targets,” he said, referring to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Recreational Park.
However, Dr Ng feels that it would not be easy to do the same for fields located within housing areas.
“For the police to conduct patrols at all the fields in the various housing areas would be impossible, because I know that they have insufficient numbers.
“What we can do is set up a Residents Association in every housing estate to check on the safety issues for morning joggers.
“We could also propose to the city council to fence up certain fields with an assigned security guard at the entrance, similar to the gated community concept,” he said.
On the joggers’ part, Dr Ng stressed that they too have to take protective measures to avoid creating chances for others to rob them.
“Leave your valuables at home. Come out to jog only with your MyKad or driving licence, and just enough money for breakfast.
“In most cases of snatch theft, it happens because of the people’s negligence.
“They can also go in a group to exercise, as it is obviously very dangerous these days to go out alone, especially when dark,” he said.
Canning assemblyman Wong Kah Woh thinks that crime cases can be reduced with increased police presence.
“Stationing police officers at crime hotspots, like Polo Ground, will go a long way in discouraging unscrupulous characters from acting,” he said.
Wong also pointed out that the police could also patrol residential areas where there are a lot of people jogging.
“But as far as I know, there is no such common practice. The government should increase the manpower of the police force.
“Currently, only about 10% of the police force are involved in combating crime, with 41% in police general administration.
“Most general administration personnel should be switched to help fight crime, as the Royal Police Commission report in 2005 has recommended that there should be at least 22% of the police force assigned for this,” he said.
Similarly, Bercham assemblyman Cheong Chee Khing said it would be difficult to have the police patrolling around fields in his area as there was shortage of manpower.
“In Bercham, we have a population of about 120,000, but the Bercham police station has only about 50 policemen.
“This means that one policeman has to take care of about 2,000 people. As such, there will be limited patrolling for morning joggers,” he said.
Adding that he has already brought this issue up during past state assemblies, Cheong said the state government told him that currently they have no plans to increase the manpower for Bercham police station.
“But so far, I have not heard of cases involving morning joggers in the Bercham area.
“I think most of them usually exercise in groups.
“With safety being a huge concern nowadays, I think people will seldom go alone to jog before the sun rises,” he said.
On steps taken by the police to improve joggers safety, Ipoh OCPD Assistant Commissioner Sum Chang Keong said currently there were police officers from the Sungai Senam police station and city council enforcement officers patrolling around Polo Ground in the morning.
“They are sometimes dressed in uniform or civillian clothing, but so far we have not received many reports of criminal activity there.
“If there are complaints from the public, we will send out police officers immediately to patrol and investigate,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment