KUCHING: Police have recorded a decline in property and violent crimes during the first half of this year, although drug-related offences, commercial crimes and fatal accidents have shown an increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Kuching police chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu shared this during the district police headquarters’ (IPD) monthly assembly today.
“Statistics from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) showed a 36.71 per cent drop in property crime index cases, with 350 cases reported between January and June this year compared to 553 in the same period last year.
“Violent crime index cases also decreased by 5.71 per cent, or four cases fewer than the previous year.
“From January 1 to June 30 this year, a total of 101 cases were solved and involved the arrest of 132 individuals. These included cases of vehicle theft, cable theft, metal theft, theft of vehicle accessories, and building break-ins,” he said.
As for narcotics, Alexson said 1,232 individuals were detained during the same six-month period for various drug-related offences, including distribution and abuse, making it an increase of 50 arrests or 4.05 per cent from the 1,182 arrests made in the same period last year. Police have also opened 1,165 investigation papers, also an increase from the 1,146 cases recorded in 2024.
The arrests led to the seizure of 5,687.94g of various drugs including methamphetamine, ketamine, cannabis and ecstasy powder, along with 2,458 pills consisting of ecstasy, Erimin 5 and other psychotropic substances.
“Meanwhile, commercial crime saw a significant rise with 1,498 police reports lodged between January and June this year, leading to 366 investigation papers being opened. This reflects a 45 per cent increase, or 164 more cases compared to the same period in 2024.
“Estimated losses also went up by 34 per cent, amounting to RM5.67 million this year,” he said.
In terms of road traffic statistics, Alexson stated that police have recorded 15 fatal accidents in the first half of 2025, an increase of 50 per cent or five more cases compared to last year.
“Serious injury accidents also rose by 75 per cent, with seven cases recorded compared to four in 2024. However, cases involving only vehicle damage dropped by 4.1 per cent, from 2,943 cases last year to 2,823 this year.
“Overall, a total of 2,852 road accidents were recorded in the district from January to June this year, showing a decrease of 4.1 per cent from 2,961 cases during the same period in 2024. During this time, police have carried out 92 operations under Op Samseng Jalanan and Op Mabuk, which resulted in the seizure of 70 vehicles and the arrest of 14 individuals,” he said.
