Crime index down by 47pc since start of NKRA

SHAH ALAM: The crime rate has been reduced by 47 per cent since the implementation of the National Key Result Area (NKRA) on crime under the National Transformation Programme (NTP).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said during the early stages of NTP, the national crime index rose by three per cent.

However, with measures such as the Modern Policing Initiative, the government was able to reduce crime nationwide, he said.

“We should be grateful that the citizens of this nation enjoy a life of peace and harmony, and are generally safe from criminal elements,” he said at the presentation of the NTP Report 2016 at Dewan Agung Tuanku Chancellor, Universiti Teknologi Mara, here yesterday.

He said the Global Peace Index 2016 had ranked Malaysia as among the 30 most peaceful nations in the world.

He said NTP had improved the lives of 6.2 million Malaysians living in rural areas through the NKRA on rural development.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the report said the figures suggested that the number of residents filing crime reports had increased, but it did not directly indicate that there was an increase in the number of crimes.

“It possibly suggests the increase in vigilance of the rakyat in filing crime reports. The analogy of ‘tip of the iceberg’ can be applied this context,” he said.

Section 6 Rukun Tetangga chairman Rajesh Mansukhlal, in response to the reduced crime rate, said police should also take into consideration petty crimes, such as unresolved snatch thefts and break-ins.

“The reduced crime rate is good, but how inclusive is it? They should take small crimes by making it easier to file police reports, so they are counted in the index,” he told the New Straits Times.

He added that the ageing population had difficulty filing reports when they became vic- tims of crime, thus, police had to find a way to ease the process to get the overall crime rate.

The Perception of Crime Indicator registered a decline in Kuala Lumpur residents’ fear of becoming victims of crime to 61 per cent last year from 80 per cent in 2015.

This, Zahid said, reflected a marked improvement in addressing the public’s most pressing concerns about crime and safety as the country embarked on a more targeted approach to combat crime.