IGP: 'Drastic' measures needed to fight crime

Police will be proposing to the government several ‘drastic’ measures in efforts to tackle street crime, according to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

One of the strategy proposals being considered is to introduce certain ‘safety zones’ in the cities where motorcyclists will be disallowed from entering.

“We all know that of the street crimes, 90 per cent of them are being caused by criminals on motorcycles,” Khalid told Astro AWANI in an exclusive interview.

“Maybe this strategy can be seen as a little drastic... but if big cities in other countries can do this, why can’t we? For a safer society, so that people can continue their activities without the disturbance of criminals on motorcycles,” he said.

“Maybe we’ll have roads according to zone A, B, C and we disallow motorcycles into these certain areas that we designate as safe zones.”

Another proposal that Khalid said is being proposed is that concerning number plates. There have previously been suggestions that the government makes number plates a controlled item.

“Yes, on number plates... that’s another proposal that we have long talked about and this initiative is now in the hands of the Road Transport Department. This we will also propose to the government,” said Khalid.

In the same interview, Khalid said that as the new IGP, he was currently focused on three specific areas of concern: unlawful assemblies, crime prevention, and the integrity of the force itself.

“One of the things I am trying to reform is to bring in a specialised field in the form of a Crime Prevention Department. It’s always better if we prevent the crime than letting it happen,” he said.

Khalid said that this new department will be working closely with various NGOs such as Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation(MCPF) and any other parties who want to work with the police.

“This is the department that will be in charge of the next strategy over how we tackle all types of criminal threats in Malaysia,” he said.

Khalid stressed that the department was not just about public relations and awareness campaigns but everything else, including having police being physically present on the ground.

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