M’sia to introduce indicator to measure crime perception amid public scepticism

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced today (Nov 3) a new public crime rate perception indicator in a bid to tackle society’s unbudging negative view of such issues.

Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also home minister, added that the current administration faced a challenge to counter society’s high “fear of crime” despite the authorities’ success in lowering the rate over the past four years by 40 per cent.

“We are coming out with the Crime Perception Indicator or CPI, to measure the level of fear of crime.

“Once it is calibrated properly, we will publish both, the crime index and the CPI,” he said during his opening speech for the Roundtable on Crime Prevention: Towards a Safer Malaysia.

He added that the index will “help crime prevention” and improve the efficiency of the enforcement agencies.

The UMNO vice-president said the initiative is driven by Pemandu, in collaboration with his Home Ministry and the police, to study the effectiveness and value of crime prevention activities as well as rate the perception on crime.

He said their studies found that the perception of crime remained steady despite authorities’ success in lowering the crime rate, which he noted was unusual.

The minister acknowledged, however, that the public is unconvinced by the crime statistics released by the police, but hoped that data released by Pemandu and third-parties will be more credible in the eyes of Malaysians.

Dr Amin Khan, the director of Pemandu’s Reducing Crime initiative, explained that the CPI will be based on four components: frequency of crime reports in the media; the perception of safety in public; perception on whether the police or public will help when in need; and the police’s performance.

It was not disclosed when the first CPI will be published, how often it will be published and how the surveys will be conducted.

Dr Khan added that Pemandu has also conducted a study with consulting firm Frost and Sullivan as well as Universiti Sains Malaysia, which found that snatch thefts and house break-ins are the main fears for the public.

Dr Zahid also confirmed that street crimes, which include snatch thefts, pose the biggest challenge to the police at the moment. MALAY MAIL ONLINE