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Awareness Raised on Issues of Opportunist Theft
May 1st, 2016 | 05:40 AM | 1048 views
JALAN KOMERSIAL JAYA SETIA, BERAKAS
Yesterday, the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) conducted a campaign at The Airport Mall, to promote more public awareness on the issue of opportunist theft.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Police Exhibition at the venue, Senior Inspector Aprizam, from the Criminal Investigation Department of the RBPF, said that opportunist theft is the most frequently reported crime in the country, with the opportunities being created by careless or negligent victims.
He also gave statistics, which showed an increase of 98 break-in cases in 2015 from 61 in 2014.
Later, in an interview, Senior Inspector Aprizam gave some tips to prevent home break-ins, which include making sure that all windows and doors are locked before going out.
When the house is vacant for a long time, "the owners must inform the neighbours, or other family members, to keep a watchful eye on the property. They can also inform the nearest police station so that police personnel will patrol that area regularly."
He also said that failure to secure doors and windows properly was the most common cause of theft.
Senior Inspector Aprizam recalled a particular case of break-in, where the thieves simply used a car to pull away metal bars from a window that was left open, and gained access into the house.
As a deterrent, he advised house owners to install a moderate to high-quality CCTV, or a motion sensor spotlight, in specific locations to warn away potential intruders.
On police efforts to apprehend the criminals, he said, "it depends on the lead. If there is no lead or suspect, we can't solve the case. However, we will not give up until we find a lead to close the case.
"In one instance, a suspect was arrested three years after the crime, after new leads emerged. Theft happens every day, and we need to gather intelligence and information from various police stations in order to pursue new leads. We also need to cross-check the suspect's fingerprints in the criminal database."
At the same exhibition, DPP Karen Tan gave a talk on the dangers of social media and cybercrime.
Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM
by BruDirect.com
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