AMPANG Jaya is a bustling district in Selangor, and partially borders Kuala Lumpur. Being in proximity to the city, the considerably small district has never lacked vibrancy.

The crimes that occur in the district are not only for police to comprehend, but also for the public victimised or terrorised by those crimes.

Understanding index and non-index crimes

Before I go further, it would be useful to understand the terms better: index and non-index crimes. Index crime consists of two categories. One in the form of violence against people and the other is crime against properties. The former includes murder, attempts to murder, incest, robbery and the like.

The latter, on the other hand, includes house break-ins, vehicle thefts, and other kinds of property thefts.

Now, let’s have a closer look at the criminal activities in Ampang Jaya. It is worth noting the crime statistics are as a result our full-fledged policing in spite of our scarce resources, manpower and preventive laws.

On average, the number of index crimes that occur in a day in the district is eight. Among these criminal acts, 72%, or six pertain to properties and the rest 28% or two are violent in nature. The crimes categorised as violent are mostly snatch thefts done either by individuals or duo on a motorcycle. Some even use weapons like knives or machetes.

They usually prey on people who wear jewellery, whether in a showy manner, carrying handbags and busy meddling with their mobile phones.

Sadly, due to a lack of leads, most investigations regarding these cases are left hanging. The essential trifecta generally used to complete the probes into snatch thefts are the motorcycle’s registration numbers, eyewitnesses and closed-circuit television recordings. These leads have mostly, if not always, been elusive for our men in blue. Even if they managed to get it, it has never been an easy feat to describe the physical or facial appearances of the suspects precisely, let alone to charge them in court.

Usually these perpetrators are smart enough to cover their face with full-faced helmets or at least masks – thanks to the pandemic.

Preventive measures

Now, let’s look at the measures we could consider to avoid being victimised by these senseless thieves who prowl the busy streets to make a quick buck at the expense of innocent people.

First and foremost, the public should always remember the ABC formula that stands for – “Always Be Careful”, especially when they are in public places. By being careful or alert, we can easily notice suspicious individuals roaming the streets.

Don’t get carried away by your state-of-the-art mobile phones that at times can turn against you. However, that doesn’t mean that you are totally barred from attending important calls or messages. Just make sure such messages or calls are attended to in a safe corner that cannot be intruded by thieves.

Another excruciating modus operandi being widely used lately by some thieves is breaking car windows of the front-passenger seat to snatch whatever bags or belongings left on the seat! This MO is usually executed by two people, when the driver is about to move from the traffic light. The pillion rider will break the glass window and snatch the bag in a split second.

Therefore, avoid putting any kind of bags or belongings in the front-passenger seat at all costs.

Dealing with property-related crimes

As I mentioned earlier, 72% of the daily crimes in Ampang Jaya consist of property related crimes like house break-ins and motorcycle thefts. The utmost challenge in investigating house break-ins is to get full fingerprints from the crime scenes. If the fingerprints collected via dusting are with incomplete contours due to external elements, it would be impossible to find the suspect.

On the other hand, there are also instances where the collected fingerprints are intact but the database has no record of the owner. This means the suspect could be without any previous crime records or is a first-time offender.

Therefore, the best preventive measures for house break-ins are installing CCTVs, alarm system and staying in residential areas with security guards, inter alia. Similar methods are also applicable to keep vehicles – especially motorcycle thefts – at bay.

However, these measures are costly and more suitable for those who are well off. For those who live with budget constraints, creating a good relationship with your neighbours can be a viable option. Hence, you may ask your neighbours keep an eye on your apartment or house and vehicles, while you travel outstation for work or pleasure.

Additionally, avoid keeping too much cash or jewellery at home. If you can’t help it, keep it in a safe.

There is also another unpopular but effective way to prevent motorcycle thefts. That is, avoid buying highly sought after bikes. Isn’t that easy? But of course young bloods will always prefer to be trendy and brand-conscious. If that is the case, then make sure the motorcycles are equipped with the necessary safety features to prevent it from being stolen.

In fact, the preventive measures highlighted in this article would also be applicable to people from other districts that most probably share similar crime trends. With these simple measures I strongly believe the public can also play their part to prevent crimes that affect them mentally, physically and also economically.

So, let us together aspire for a district with zero crime. – November 25, 2020.

* Mohamad Farouk Eshak is Ampang Jaya district police chief, with 23 years of experience in the force.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.