I REFER to the news report, “Gang robberies up 14,143″ (NST, Dec 1), in which it was reported that armed robbery cases had risen from 3,691 cases to 17,834 cases in a year. This is a five-fold rise in gang robberies over the period.

According to Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin, the number of policemen was limited and it was impossible for them to be present at all locations and at all times.

Gang robberies are organised crimes. In the early 1950s, when organised crime by secret societies was a serious problem, the colonial government tackled the problem by recruiting large numbers of Special Branch officers of the same race and who spoke the same dialects as the secret society members.

These undercover officers infiltrated secret societies to gather intelligence that helped the government curb the activities of these societies.

Perhaps a similar approach could be employed to infiltrate the gangs of robbers to gather intelligence and cripple them.

Also, Britain’s crime rate has been reduced by the extensive use and supervision of closed-circuit television sur-veillance cameras.

As the number of our policemen is limited, the wider use of surveillance cameras should help.

M. GANESHADEVA, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – December 3, 2008