Roadblocks imposed throughout Malaysia are one of the reasons for the declining crime index.
(Source: MalayMail / Firdaus Latif)

A year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, leaving negative impacts to everyone, and no exception to the world economy and our country.

Apart from the impact on the country’s economy, the index of criminal cases in our country has also declined sharply as a result of the implementation of Movement Control Order (MCO) by the Malaysian Government which has been implemented from March 18, 2020 until today.

Among the factors that have caused the decline in criminal cases is the deployment of police and army personnel. This is to monitor the movements of Malaysians during the MCO period in breaking the chain of virus infection.

Based on 2020 crime statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the crime index ratio per 100,000 population for Malaysia in 2019 improved to 256.6 as compared to 273.8 in 2018. The crime index ratio for all states declined except for Pulau Pinang (3.7 percent), Sarawak (4.2 percent), and Terengganu (1.3 percent). Seven states recorded crime index ratio below the national level in 2019 namely Sarawak (214.6), Perlis (207.5), Perak (195.8), Pahang (195.7), Kelantan (188.2), Terengganu (150.3), and Sabah (143.5).

According to a 2020 news article published by Malaymail, Commissioner Datuk Huzir Mohamed, head of Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigations Department said that from January 1 to November 15, there were 72,836 instances nationally, down 23 percent from the same period last year.

He pointed out that thefts had reduced by 47.64 percent in 2020 which are 1,160 occurrences, compared to 2,216 reports to police in the same period in 2019.

Besides, Commissioner Datuk Huzir Mohamed said police arrested fewer people for suspected snatch theft over the first 11 months in 2020 — just 527, compared to 893 in 2019.

A series of MCO began in March 2020 was to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which when combined with increased in police vigilance, has likely resulted in a decline in thefts cases.

He promised that the police will keep taking comprehensive efforts to minimise crime and maintain public order and safety.

He encouraged Malaysians to stop disseminating unverified or incorrect information. Doing that would mislead the public about safety levels and jeopardise law enforcement efforts.

According to an article from Astro Awani in 2020, former Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said that since the implementation of the MCO on March 18, the crime index rate has decreased by 70 percent nationwide.

Despite the fact that the crime rate fell over the duration of the order, he discovered that the most common crimes were burglary and motorcycle theft.

Tan Sri Abdul Hamid said 46,000 policemen and police employees have been assigned across the country to set up roadblocks, patrol motorcycles, examine public premises, and disseminate information about the MCO's implementation.

Meanwhile, when asked about community compliance with the MCO implementation, he stated that the quality of compliance significantly improved.

The Head of The Betong Police Station, Sergeant Major Jeberi Drawi.

(Source: Berita Dimensi / Eizzuddin Emir)

The Head of Betong Police Station, Sergeant Major Jeberi Drawi, during a virtual interview session with Berita DIMENSi via Google Meet, stated that the criminal cases are decreasing probably because of the implementation of MCO.

“Anyone who does not have any important issue needs to stay at home and is not allowed to go outside unless for those who are working in essential service or people who have urgencies,” Jeberi said.

Further commenting on why the crime index can drop due as a result of this MCO, Sergeant Major Jeberi explained that the criminals are unable to carry out their crime because police officers are constantly monitoring them in places like the roadblock, lockdown area, and quarantine centre.

“But to be exact, we cannot just assume the crime rates will go down or up since it also refers to the frequency of surveillance made itself,” he added.

He also stated that during this pandemic, almost 100 percent of police members are being directed to tighten the Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) which also help in lessening the criminal cases.

“Since there are police everywhere, the criminals are afraid to move around since the criminals always want to stay low-key so they will not be known by the police,” he said.

According to him, if the public goes out, they risk being caught since a police patrol will be on duty patrolling the house area. So, they are more likely to be caught than to succeed in their crime.

“The step that will be taken if any robbery cases are happening is there will be a crime prevention operation that will occur in the hotspot or targeted area,” he added.

The police officer will monitor those who are under police surveillance and make sure that they are doing their report routine at the police station every Monday to Thursday.

According to an article published by The Star this year, drug cases in Sarawak are increasing during this MCO 3.0. The Sarawak police commissioner, Datuk Aidi Ismail told in a press conference that the Sarawak Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department managed to find out the drug activities during the ‘Ops Parti Liar’.

The narcotics team managed to arrest 41 people consisting of 21 men and 14 women aged 18 to 42 years old. They also get to seize the drugs whose value is estimated around RM7000.

Meanwhile, the Head of Betong Police Station said, the police are also monitoring any drug cases in the hotspot area, which usually happens in rural areas. Due to the surveillance by the police towards the people's movement in the hotspot area, this will help to prevent any crime from happening.

“As the general crime index went down in 2021, there is still hope for drug cases in Sarawak to decline since we are implementing tight surveillance in rural areas during MCO”, he said to Berita DIMENSi.

When asked by Berita DIMENSi about his hope, he said that once the pandemic meets its end, he hopes that the criminal cases are going down and promises the police force will do their best to curb criminal cases for the sake of the public safety and national security.

“I also hope that Malaysian society will also take responsibility in playing its part to prevent crime. It is best to take quick action and report it to the authorities whenever there is a crime that happens with the help of technology that can be done with just a click”, said Jeberi.

This means that if society and the authorities work together as one to prevent crime besides flattening the curve, it could be achieved. As the police slogan always says, ‘Polis dan Masyarakat Berpisah Tiada’.

People gathered in a neighborhood accident involving a black Toyota Hilux.
(Source: Ahmad Irfan)

Ahmad Irfan, 26, a university student, during an online interview with Berita DIMENSi through WhatsApp, he said that he is aware of the decreased crime rates in Malaysia, especially during MCO.

“Many have lost their jobs during MCO but it does not mean people would commit crimes like robbing which could increase the Malaysian crime index.

“There are many new ways to get a job or money online such as starting an online business and also any other creative ways to survive during this pandemic,” said Irfan to Berita DIMENSi.

He explained that since the crime, in general, some criminal cases have increased as a result of the pandemic, such as online selling, in which internet scammers discovered a new way to commit a crime during MCO.

According to crime statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia in 2020, Terengganu, which is Irfan’s hometown, recorded the second lowest crime index ratio compared to other Malaysian states in 2019.

Irfan agreed that the criminal cases generally have declined during MCO is a blessing in disguise where criminals could not commit a crime since there is a lockdown. The lockdown surveillance made by the authority makes it harder for it to happen but does not mean we are crime-free.

He also had the opportunity to share with Berita DIMENSi about his experience of witnessing a crime incident in his home area last month.

“On the night of the incident around midnight, a grown adult man went rogue and hit the front fence of my neighbour’s house which caused slight damage. That man was having a fight with his ex-girlfriend and accidentally hit the fence when he could not think straight at that time,” he said.

Irfan also shared his experience of being a witness of the incident to the authority who came to his house that night.

“The incident made me think that there are still cases out there even if the crime index has decreased,” said Irfan.

The current crime index recorded by Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigations Department is one of the proofs that people are following all the advice of the authorities and the authorities have done a great job to curb the criminal cases throughout the MCO period.

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