Lo (third right) and Law (third left) releasing the balloons to officiate the event.
KUCHING: Sarawak Police Contingent will host Customers Day every month starting this month to get closer to the community.
Deputy Padawan district police chief DSP Lim Jaw Shyong said the Customers Day is a platform for the public to personally meet with the police to share their opinions and suggestions.
“As we know, the crime index at the Padawan area for 2018 and 2019 has shown reduction but there is an increase in terms of property crimes, motorcycle thefts which are 24 cases.
“Thus, we need to hold more community policing programmes to attract more from the community to help in fighting crime together as one team,” he said at a security dialogue with the community at Darul Ehsan Mosque in Kampung Haji Baki yesterday.
Throughout 2019, he said the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department of IPD Padawan made 717 arrests, up from 515 in 2018.
Thus, he welcomes the public to cooperate by giving information on criminal activities.
Aside from that, IPD Padawan has the Amanita Programme, where 90 policewomen are tasked with engaging housewives in the area to be the police’s eyes and ears in combating crime.
Meanwhile, Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang hopes the community will play a bigger part in crime prevention, especially with drug abuse spreading to villages.
“This is a joint responsibility of everyone – the police, local council and community – to come together in fighting the drug menace and crime activities involving students and youths.”
Lo, who is also Padawan Municipal Council chairman, said the cooperation with the police is timely as the local council is always ready in making such activities a success.
He noted that vandalism is on the rise with people destroying signboards, recreational parks and others.
As a measure, Lo said the local council ensured that the grass in less frequented areas is cut frequently to deter people from committing crimes there.
“MPP has its own careline and WhatsApp hotline for the public to lodge complaints like dark village roads especially on government land.”
The police have also introduced the ‘Volunteer Smartphone Patrol’, a new application to create collaboration in jointly preventing crime and for the public to be the eyes and ears of the police, Lo added.
With the app, he said the public can channel complaints complete with photos, video and GPS co-ordinates of incident location.
At the event, Lo donated RM3,000 to the SK Haji Baki Parent-Teacher Association.