Cops: Gun crimes surge after EO repeal 'not coincidental'
The spate of crime, including those involving firearms, may have something to do with the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance (EO), the police have insisted.
The spate of crime, including those involving firearms, may have something to do with the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance (EO), the police have insisted.
Asked specifically about crimes involving the use of firearms and the EO, which was repealed at the end of 2011, federal CID director Hadi Ho Abdullah said: "It cannot be coincidental.
"We have made a study. From 2012 to June 2013, of the 130,000 arrested in the whole country ... close to 30 percent are repeat offenders," he said.
However, asked for the proportion of those arrested who were found to be former EO detainees, Hadi said he would consider releasing the statistics at a later date.
His statement comes as calls are made for an introduction of a new law which could allow preventive detention, as provided for by the EO.
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that 90 percent of recent crimes in Selangor were masterminded by former EO detainees.
Seizure of firearms doubled
In a related matter, Hadi said that the number of smuggled firearms seized by police had doubled this year compared to last year.
"This did not come by itself, but involved intelligence and planning by the officers," said Hadi, who is in charge of the taskforce to root out smuggling which has put firearms in the hands of criminals.
Recent shooting cases, including high profile cases involving an anti-crime activist and a prominent banker, have raised public alarm.
While he admits that there is a rise in the use of firearms in crime, Deputy Inspector General of Police Bakri Zinin said such cases are not "rampant" as perceived, nor are they "random".
"These are not random shootings, they are motivated by something, maybe revenge, and we have to look at the background of each case...
"No one is out there shooting people at random, and we are looking at every case carefully," he said.
He also urged the public to "trust the police" and assist police based on information it releases to the public on each case.
"Give us your trust and don't only complain. Assist us with investigations," he said.
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