11th Malaysia Plan: Government To reduce crime index, increase feeling-safe perception

The government aims to reduce the crime index by five per cent annually during the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) period of 2016 to 2020 and increase the perception of feeling safe to 60 per cent in 2020.

According to the 11MP, which was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the Dewan Rakyat today, the crime prevention initiative would be intensified through omnipresence, the Safe City Programme and volunteerism programmes.

"... increase the perception of feeling safe from 39 per cent in 2014 to 60 per cent in 2020. Omnipresence will be improved by redeploying more personnel to crime prevention tasks," says the report.

The five-year plan states that police response time to distress calls will be improved from 12 minutes to eight minutes, particularly in urban and major cities, through the deployment of an integrated information system known as the Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Integration (C4i) system.

The plan also says the capacity and capabilities of enforcement personnel will be enhanced by providing the appropriate tools and capability building programmes.

"For example, collaboration with international policing bodies could be leveraged to enhance the knowledge and skills of enforcement personnel through specialised training and exchange programmes.

"The integrity of enforcement personnel will be bolstered through awareness programmes conducted by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity and greater oversight by both the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission and the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission," says the plan.

The plan says inter-agency collaboration will be facilitated through the establishment of task forces and integrated databases among the relevant agencies.

Meanwhile, the 11MP says existing laws and regulations will be reviewed to improve crime prevention effectiveness and crime prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) elements that will be incorporated in the development of new residential and commercial areas.

"Unlawful entry at immigration checkpoints will be curbed with the introduction of the Advanced Passenger Screening System (APSS) and biometric and facial recognition systems," says the plan.

Meanwhile, touching on improving road safety to reduce accidents, the plan says the government aims to reduce the road fatalities index from 2.9 per 10,000 registered vehicles in 2013 to 2.0 by 2020.

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The plan says this will be achieved through the wider implementation of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) and a review of the KEJARA System which imposes heavier penalties on errant drivers.