KUCHING: Rape cases remain a concern for police despite Sarawak recording a drop of 462 criminal cases during the first six months of this year.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Saifullizan Ishak said overall criminal cases fell by 19 per cent between Jan 1 and June 30 compared with the same period last year.
However, he said rape cases under the violent crime category increased by 39 cases, or 53 per cent, during the review period.
“In addition, armed gang robbery increased by two cases, while armed robbery rose by one case compared to the same period last year.
“For the property crime category, no increase was recorded in any sub-category during the review period.
“Instead, all property crime categories showed a positive downward trend,” he said in his speech during the Sarawak Police Contingent monthly assembly at the Sarawak Police Contingent headquarters this morning.
Saifullizan said the reduction in overall crime reflected the effectiveness of the Criminal Investigation Department’s continuous efforts to strengthen public safety through crime prevention operations, integrated enforcement and active community participation.
“Despite the overall decline, several categories of offences continue to show an increase and require serious attention as well as more proactive measures.
“For violent crimes, a decrease of four cases (1 per cent) was recorded, while property crimes registered a more significant decline of 458 cases (22 per cent).
On drug-related offences, Saifullizan said police arrested 3,763 individuals for various criminal offences during the same period.
Of the total, 965 individuals, or 26 per cent, tested positive for drugs.
“These statistics indicate that drug abuse remains one of the contributing factors to criminal behaviour and threats to public safety,” he explained.
