GEORGE TOWN: The crime index in the state last year saw a slight increase of 2.8 per cent or 143 cases compared to 2018, said state deputy police chief Datuk Roslee Chik.
Roslee said a total of 5,217 cases were recorded last year compared to 5,074 in 2018, and a total of 2,698 cases were solved last year.
“That is 51.7 per cent of the reported cases, with 3,745 cases or 40 per cent were successfully prosecuted,” he said during a press conference at the state police contingent headquarters here today.
Roslee said three of the five districts in the state had also recorded an increase in crime cases, with 187 more cases reported in Seberang Perai Tengah, 37 more cases in Seberang Perai Selatan and 12 more cases in Southwest district.
He said the Northeast district recorded a reduction in crime cases by 23 cases or 1.7 per cent and Seberang Perai Tengah saw a reduction of 70 cases or 6.9 per cent.
“For commercial crimes, the total loss suffered saw a 27.8 per cent increase from RM142 million in 2018 to RM181 million last year,” he said, adding that there was also an increase of false reports cases from 17 cases in 2018 to 28 cases in 2019.
Roslee said closed circuit television camera (CCTV) footage had been crucial in solving the crime cases.
“I would like to thank the state government and local authorities for installing CCTV across the state. It really helps the police to solve and prevent crime in Penang.
“At the same time, I would like to appeal the public to cooperate with the police by sharing CCTV footage from private premises which can help solve crimes,” he said, adding that there was reluctance among civilians in sharing their CCTV footage with the authorities.
Roslee said among the high profile cases that have been solved by police were motorcycle theft syndicates, where a total of 599 individuals had been arrested in an operation codenamed Op Lejang and 167 of them had been prosecuted in court.
He said during the operation, four other motorcycle theft syndicates were also crippled with more than RM1 million worth of seizure.
On drug operation, Roslee also highlighted state police’s success in hauling the biggest ever drug bust ever seen in Malaysia with a value of seizure of RM2.4 billion.
The cocaine, which was mixed with 60 tonnes of charcoal, was believed to be from an international drug syndicate that used Penang as a transit point.
He also called on the public to cooperate with police by verifying any information they have obtained before spreading the message in social media.
He said this would enable police to be more focused in combating serious crime and not waste time in investigating viral messages that were later found to be untrue.