Engaging people to fight crime

I READ with a lot of hope and optimism the report “May you always be with the force” ( The Star, March 24) on the initiative by the police to reduce crime rate in Malaysia via their latest application, the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP).

This, of course, is an excellent initiative and was long overdue. With the advancement of technology, this surely is the way forward to enable us to live in a safe and peaceful environment.

We have seen how effective mobile devices are in addressing crime elsewhere in the world. The evidence delivered via these devices provide the police with credible information and, sometimes, the people involved in a crime. It makes the job of investigating a crime more efficient and thus faster to solve.

I fully support this initiative as Malaysia has the highest percentage of smartphone usage in the world and this application would tremendously enhance the monitoring of criminal and negative social activities in our communities.

It is also an opportunity for the public to play an active role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their respective communities.

While congratulating Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the police force for this transformation in community policing, I also hope those responsible for managing this initiative have done their studies and homework to ensure that it will not fail.

My concerns are based on the statement by the police that they are initially targeting 4.8 million smartphone users. This number may grow as the population increases in the next three to five years as more smartphone users come on board.

With my experience in the telecommunications industry, I am aware that there are thresholds that enable a particular application or product to function efficiently. Once this threshold is reached, the system will automatically slow down or, worse, shut down.

I hope this new application was built to accommodate the projected as well as any unexpected surge in its usage by the public. And since this is an excellent application, I can only foresee a surge in its usage!

My other concern is whether the police has sufficient manpower to manage the expected usage of this application. If we assume 4.8 million smartphone users send just one information/report a year, the police will have to manage an additional 13,000 reports a day.

We can also assume that most of these reports are going to be received in urban areas where there is a bigger number of smartphone users. Add to that the possibility of a higher number of crimes in these urban areas and you have a higher concentration of reports to manage in these areas. Will the police be prepared for this sudden rise in reports?

In addition, the police will also have to deal with false reports done by mischievous individuals for cheap fun. Imagine the waste of resources involved in running after false reports!

Perhaps this initiative could be implemented in stages. For example, we could start with our taxi drivers who are almost every where. We could install dashboard cameras on all taxis to help the police monitor traffic offenders. Some form of incentive should be given to encourage them to participate in this initiative. For example, if they provide visual evidence of a motorist breaking a traffic rule, a portion of the summons paid can be given to the taxi driver as an incentive.

Uber and Grab Car drivers could also be roped in for this project. After all, they are all registered and their particulars are available if needed. This will reduce the number of false reports as well.

Rela is another registered body that can be coopted in this initiative. So, too, any other registered body that have a similar objective as the police in reducing crime and being the eyes and ears of the force. This will make our roads a safer place and indirectly reduce the expenditure incurred by the police for enforcement activities and manpower to monitor traffic offenders and criminal activities.