Tawau: The number of crimes in Sabah has dropped by 531 to 5,548 cases from January to November this year as compared with 6,079 cases during the same period last year.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said the disposal rate of criminal cases was 48.97 per cent and 48.40 per cent for street crimes while the number of cases charged in court had reached 18.73 per cent.

"The statistics clearly show that the police have achieved their Key Performance Index (KPI) target under the National Key Results Area (NKRA)," he said at the launching of the Tawau Police District Crime Prevention and Community Policing-NKRA Programme held at the Sabah Chinese High School here.

He said the implementation of crime prevention and community policing programme showed the strong commitment of the police force to ensure peace and security of the local community.

"The programme also acts as a liaison between the community and the police and this facilitates the process of information dissemination," Hamza said.

"With this crime prevention programme, I am confident that the number of crimes will continue to drop if all quarters play their role and work together as one community," he added.

For the Tawau district, Hamza said 840 cases were recorded during the first 11 months of this year, an increase of 6.06 per cent compared with 792 cases for the same period last year.

The disposal rate of criminal cases was 43.82 per cent and 42.59 per cent for street crimes while the number of cases charged in court had reached 27.08 per cent.

Also present at the ceremony was Tawau District Police Chief, ACP Awang Besar Dullah.

Meanwhile, Hamza reminded the people not to be tricked into committing internet frauds by making calls or texting messages through the short message service (SMS) at random.

He said the authorities had received reports of internet crimes committed by scammers such as the ‘Macau Scam' syndicate, African scammers, and the ‘Power Root' SMS scam.

He said the people should be aware of local and international syndicates preying on victims at random.

"Their modus operandi is to request the victims to disclose confidential information or transfer money to third-party accounts,'' Hamza said.

As such, he advised the people not to disclose confidential account information or transfer their funds to third-party accounts of strangers.

"Please verify the identity of the person concerned and notify the police if you receive a call from such scam artists," he said.

He also urged the people to become the ‘eyes and ears' of the police force in an effort to reduce the crime rate.

"The people's involvement in crime prevention activities is not an excuse to prevent the police from discharging their duties, but rather an effective strategy to fight crime," Hamza said.

--Courtesy of New Sabah Times