I HAVE been reading reports over the past few days on the fact that the crime rate in Malaysia has gone up by 13.4 per cent. Anyone on the street would have been able to attest to this fact.

A few days ago, my handbag was snatched in front of a hotel and office block in Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, by a motorcyclist about 2pm.

What is alarming is that since then, the majority of people I spoke to have told me that the same thing had happened over the past two years to their wives, husbands, daughters, sons or friends in Kuala Lumpur or major cities in the country.

When I went to make a police report, they were helpful although it was clear that such incidents were normal occurrences and nothing was done to catch the thieves or to prevent such incidents.

My trip to the Road Transport Department for a new licence also confirmed this: I was told that I had to pay a fine of RM20 (despite a police report) and this was normal, too.

It is interesting to note that despite the Jalan Sultan Ismail area being busy and frequently used by tourists, no police personnel are patrolling the area.

This is a departure from the practice in other major cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok where you frequently see police personnel patrolling busy areas.

In fact, many Malaysians and friends from overseas have said that it felt much safer in other countries than in Malaysia.

Where are our police? Having a pondok will not stop criminals as they only need to avoid the area where the pondok is.

Having closed-circuit television cameras will not necessarily prevent such incidents as CCTVs only help to view what had happened.

By that time, criminals would have committed the crime and sped off.

In my case, I was not harmed. If the thief had injured me, no CCTV could have prevented that.

Apart from having more policemen patrolling hotspots and busy areas, it is also important that such criminals are given stiff sentences.

Why, because even if the criminals claim that an incident is their first offence and plead for leniency, it should be remembered that their crime would have emotionally scarred their victims.

Such criminals who are willing to harm their victims should receive harsh penalties.

Effective measures should be implemented before this becomes another matter which dies down after a few weeks of debate.

J.C., Ampang, Selangor

Source: NST – January 16, 2008