PETALING JAYA: Malaysians can expect safer surroundings by 2020 as one of the strategic thrusts in the 11th Malaysia Plan to improve wellbeing for all.

Crime prevention will be intensified through strategies such as omnipresence, the Safe City Programme, and volunteerism programmes.

Police response time to distress calls will be improved from 12 minutes to eight minutes, particularly in urban and major cities, via an integrated information system known as the Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Integration (C4i) system.

With an aim to reduce the crime index by 5% annually and increase the perception of feeling safe from 39% in 2014 to 60% in 2020, omnipresence will be improved by redeploying more personnel to the task of crime prevention.

Awareness programmes conducted by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity, and greater oversight by both the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission and the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission will help to bolster the integrity of enforcement personnel.

The capabilities of law enforcement personnel will also be further improved via specialised training and exchange programmes with international policing bodies.

Crime prevention efforts will see improvement via intensified collaboration across public and private sector stakeholders.

One such measure is the incorporation of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) elements in the development of new residential and commercial areas

The establishment of task forces and integrated databases among the relevant agencies will also facilitate inter-agency collaboration.

The private sector will be encouraged to install CCTV cameras in hotspots that connect to police control centres through an open network platform.

The public will also be spurred to undertake self-policing efforts by installing theft deterrent measures in their homes, such as CCTV cameras and security alarm systems.

According to the report, the Tenth Malaysia Plan - which was enforced from 2011 to 2015 - achieved a 22.7% decline in the crime index between 2011 and 2014.

Street crime in the same period decreased by 17.6%, while there was a 53.2% increase in the number of registered Voluntary Patrolling Schemes (SRS).

The continued commitment to safekeeping of neighbourhoods and public spaces is thus aimed at giving the rakyat peace of mind and allowing communities to thrive. 

In addition, the Government will also enhance rehabilitation, treatment, and aftercare to reduce recidivism among ex-inmates and relapse among drug addicts.

Although new drug addiction cases decreased from 13,680 in 2011 to 13,270 in 2014, relapse cases increased from 5,848 in 2011 to 7,956 in 2014.

This was attributed to the availability of locally manufactured synthetic drugs and the continuous societal stigmatisation of drug addicts.

To reduce the rate of re-offenders, self-development programmes that provide skills and entrepreneurship training will be strengthened, and more transit houses will be provided for ex-inmates.

The Community Rehabilitation Programme will also be introduced for drug addicts through collaboration between the National Anti-Drugs Agency and related agencies.

The bolstering of these community-based services are aimed at enabling the successful reintegration of ex-inmates and drug addicts into society, and reducing recidivism and relapse.

NGOs will also be encouraged to provide support services for rehabilitation, treatment, and reintegration such as job placement and aftercare programmes.

With these enhanced measures, the plan hopes to achieve the targeted recidivist rate of 5% and relapse rate of 35% by 2020.

Resource: The Star Online