DCP of Police Says Police Solve More Crimes, So Why Do We Think Crime Rate is Bad?

Relevant excerpt from The Star 9 July 2009:

On another matter, DCP Mohd Mokhtar said the Iskandar Regional Development Authority had assigned a media specialist to help police counter the negative perception people have of the state.

“Our statistics show that the police have been increasingly successful in solving crime, but somehow people seem to have this perception that the crime rate here is bad,” he said.

“Nevertheless, the police are committed to tackling crime in the state, as well as implementing the 46 initiatives under Iskandar Malaysia’s Safety and Security blueprints.”

It’s not how much crime is solved that the populace worries about, sir. It is the sheer amount and brutality of crimes that make them feel so unsafe.

Say a woman is rammed off the highway and gang raped, or a girl is ambushed and gang raped in a public park. Do you think it comforts them much that the rapists are caught after the act?

Say a man is stabbed and dies in a public place early in the morning, just to facilitate a simple robbery. Do you really think he would be (still around to) appreciative that the police solve so-and-so % more theft cases these days?

The fundamental question is: Why do criminals think they can act so brazenly on the streets of Johor, if the police really are such a strong and effective presence as claimed?

To be fair, Johor Bahru seems safer than before the machine-guns initivative, but the criminals are still there – lurking, waiting. If the police start getting lax, I can predict that we will see Johor Bahru return to being the City of Criminals.

Tags: DCP of police, Iskandar Regional Development Authority, johor crime, Mohd Mokhtar