PETALING JAYA: Police have reassured the public that crime is not on the rise despite higher unemployment rates.
In a statement, Bukit Aman CID director Huzir Mohamed said police are aware the public are concerned over the possible rise in crime because of unemployment as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This uneasiness has been compounded by a viral video on snatch thefts in the country, but Huzir said the statistics tell a different story.
Between Jan 1 and Nov 15, he said, a total of 56,117 crimes were reported and this was a drop of 16,719 cases (23%) compared with the 72,836 cases reported in the same period last year.
“Regarding snatch thefts, a total of 1,160 cases were reported between Jan 1 and Nov 15 compared with 2,216 cases in the same period last year. This is a reduction of 1,056 cases (47.6%).”
As of Nov 15, a total of 893 suspects had been arrested over snatch thefts compared with 527 in the same period last year.
So, he said, the claims that there was a rise in crime because of unemployment was not true.
Still, Huzir said, police will continue to ensure that crime rates are brought down.
“We also advise the public against simply creating and sharing content which paints an inaccurate picture about crime trends or cases which are not supported by facts from the authorities,” he said, adding that this could lead to unease among the public. -FMT