YOU usually get a tiny idea about a country's crime level from nuggets of advice from friends before your visit. Whether the perception is fair is an entirely different matter, but a country's reputation among would-be tourists is always interesting to consider. "Be careful with pickpockets in Morocco," a friend told me.

Before I went to El Salvador three years ago, my father had a near-panic attack about the possibility of me being attacked or harmed by criminal gangs there. What is fact, and what is over-cautious exaggeration?

By the time I arrived in Britain last September, I had heard about the rising teenage violence in the country, with friends telling me about things like the Anti-Social Behaviour Order (better known as "Asbo").

Asbos are civil orders made against those who have shown anti-social behaviour. Many Asbos have been issued to violent or rowdy teenagers known to terrorise their neighbourhoods. There were just too many such teens, apparently, and court-issued tailor-made Asbos were needed to prohibit them from causing any more nuisance or harm.

Recently though, the threat of being antagonised by Brit yobs has been supplanted by the frightening possibility of being knifed. The number of youths shot or stabbed to death in London alone this year is 18, and each tragic story magnifies the horror that knife crimes have become an extremely serious criminal issue.
And the criminal cases in general just get more appalling -- two talented French students were stabbed 200 times and set on fire in New Cross, and 16-year-old Shakilus Townsend was beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed to death in southeast London last week. Townsend was the 18th fatality.

In 2004, more than 20 teenagers died as a result of knife attacks in the UK. Almost a third of young people in London schools admitted that they had carried knives.

To those who do not live in England, these facts and figures may come as a shock. Isn't London the epicentre of all things modern, cool, clean and safe; the land of professional cops and CCTVs in every nook and cranny?

Britain is, of course, not alone in the ranks of developed but violent nations. Gun crimes are well-known in the United States, with many cases of youths brandishing guns. The authorities' reactions to these crimes are usually hardline and resolute -- toughen up laws; in some instances instituting zero-tolerance policies and beefing up the police force's efforts and resources.

But there is also the reminder that crimes, especially involving youths, signify something deeper and darker within society. That the young are feeling increasingly more alienated and less guided by traditional family structures or values, as well as seeking comfort, a sense of belonging and identity from their peer groups.

Many delinquent kids here are children of parents who had them when they were barely adults themselves. When families fail to provide a loving and secure environment, schools concentrate too much on grades, and society tars them all as annoying outcasts, it can't be easy.

What of Malaysia? Do Malaysians generally feel safe? Earlier in the year we had the heartbreaking tragedies of 8-year-old Nurin Jazimin, who was kidnapped and murdered, as well as 5-year-old Sharlinie Nashar, also believed to be abducted.

As far as the general crime climate is concerned though, the recurring theme so far has been motorcycle-dominated and robbery-related. There is still the scourge of the Mat Rempit motorcycle maniacs. Some say they are the scum of society; some say they are misunderstood youths.

There is also all women's fear of snatch thieves, and attackers in general. It is a real and great fear. I walk the streets of London with a considerably lighter grip on my bag than in Kuala Lumpur, where I clutch it as if it contains gold bars. It is a little ironic how I feel safer and walk here with much more confidence at night than back home although, statistically, London has been scoring higher on the crime and violence charts.

According to the US State Department's Overseas Security Advisory Council, Malaysia's 2008 crime report so far says our overall crime rate is "medium", and that violent crime is relatively uncommon. But we should neither take comfort in that nor rest on our laurels.

Crime manifests itself as a symptom of something amiss or awry under the surface of society. Something deeper and darker; something most citizens would rather forget or leave to the authorities. But as we can see in Britain and America, when generations roll along, it is much harder to remedy issues, inculcate values, or put into place policies that are more about change than containment.

If Malaysians are "relatively luckier" than other violence-prone societies right now, we should endeavour even more to keep it that way, as well as further improve our chances through our schools and other institutions.

Crime reduction and prevention should not be about earning political points, a gleaming addition to a master plan, or soothing public fears whenever a tragedy happens. Citizens need to feel safe.



laych@nstp.com.my