Challenges For PDRM As Crimes Become More Complex, Sophisticated

By Nur Natasha Aida Ismail and Muhammad Afiq Mohd Asri KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (Bernama)-- The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) on Wednesday celebrates its 208th anniversary amidst challenges in its responsibility and role as the country's guardian of security, peace and harmony. Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said the PDRM faces two scopes of challenges, internal and external. "The internal aspect relates to human capital which is among the crucial elements in the development and wellbeing of the country. "There is a need to increase and balance the police personnel to people ratio, in line with the Interpol standard of 1:250. "Based on current statistics, the PDRM has a strength of 126,800 including senior officers, junior officers and civil servants, compared to 30 million people. "According to the ratio, our number is still low," he said in a special interview in conjunction with Police Day here. Khalid said the government allocated 4,000 posts yearly to the PDRM but usually only 3,000 were filled. PDRM must therefore recruit around 6,000 to 7,000 yearly to make up for the deficiency. "Currently, 11 per cent of our workforce are women and we hope that eventually this percentage would increase to 30 per cent," he said. He said the PDRM were forced to make do with the available logistics following the government's move to rationalise national expenditure. "This had caused us to shelve a number of our development programmes including plans to replace logistics equipment and to build living quarters for officers and personnel," he said. Emphasising the PDRM's dire need for housing for its personnel, he cited a social media video clip that went viral, purportedly of the widow of a policeman being forced to vacate the quarters after his death due to a road accident. Khalid denied accusations that police had acted inhumanely, explaining that two reminders to vacate the quarters were issued to the widow but she ignored them. "We sympathise with her and her family and we had done what we could to assist her. "But we also have to consider the welfare of other personnel who need quarters. Some had to resort to renting houses in squatter areas..we have to help them," he said. Of the external challenges, Khalid cited crime, which he described as a traditional challenge. He said in the national key result area (NKRA) initiative under the Government Transformation Programme introduced in 2009, the PDRM was entrusted to bring down the crime index by five per cent every year till 2020. In this regard, crime prevention management included educating the public in awareness and discernment to a level where they would become the catalysts in ensuring sustainable peace, security and prosperity in the country, he said. Khalid also regarded crimes involving syndicates, cross borders, foreigners, and social crimes as a major challenge to the PDRM. "Aside from that, cyber crimes have also shown a glaring increase, with 8,140 cases in the first nine months of last year, involving cyber fraud (3,326); spam (1,710); hacking (1,244); and defamation (645)," he said. The PDRM further had to deal with hindrances in identifying the origin of the offender, weaknesses in the existing law and prosecution, and increase in piracy and intellectual property infringement. "Cyber crime is a threat that can undermine the confidence of the people and disrupt the country's economic and political stability if not tackled seriously and comprehensively," he stressed. He said cross border security particularly at the Malaysia-Thailand, Sarawak-Kalimantan and Sabah-Philippine boundaries was still and would continue to be a key agenda. In facing the challenges, as crimes become more complex and sophisticated, Khalid said the PDRM through its departments was constantly looking at means to strengthen the force in its capability and efficiency. "This includes acquiring and increasing strategic resources," he added. This year's Police Day theme, 'Polis dan Masyarakat Berpisah Tiada' (Police and Community are Intertwined), is in line with the government's aspiration to humanise the public service and ensure continuity of the dynamic rapport between the PDRM and public. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA