Disdain for cops a ‘crime,’ says MCPF
(TMI) The negative perception of the police by the community is seen as a new “crime” which should be curbed immediately, according to Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) Vice-Chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
He said this problem had been identified some time ago but efforts to curb it demanded time and the collaboration of many quarters.
“When a crime takes place, there are victims who prefer not to report it to the police, thinking that the process will be dragging.
“This does not help the police in curbing crime. In fact, a new problem emerges — the negative perception towards crime prevention, especially the police,” he said.
Lee was speaking to Bernama after a roundtable of the National Key Results Area (NKRA) on crime reduction at Wisma Bernama, here recently.
He said the community also asked how it was to believe the statistics indicating less incidence of crime when violent crimes such as murders and armed robberies were reported almost every day.
Lee said the MCPF proposed more activities involving the police and the community, such as the existing community policing, to dispel the negative perception.
The ability to communicate well with the community was seen as a primary weapon to curb the “perception crime”, whereby more people would begin to help the police fight crime, he said.
Lee said heart-to-heart talk between the police and the community would help to strengthen trust and confidence in the national security system.
He said Asians, including Malaysians, were inclined to questioning and having a negative perception of anything done by the authorities.
“Although the police and other agencies do a good job of fighting crime and arresting offenders, there are still those who criticise and highlight the weaknesses of the police, for example.
“This is the crime of perception. If we can change this perception in the community, the police task of curbing crime will become easier as the community will have full confidence in the police then,” he said.
Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/disdain-for-cops-a-crime-says-mcpf/
