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Let’s do the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol right the first time

I read with a lot of hope and optimism on the announcement by our Malaysian police force that they are encouraging the participation of the public via smartphones to reduce crime rate in Malaysia via their latest application, the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP).

This off course is an excellent initiative and long overdue. With the advancement of technology, this surely is the way forward to enable us to live in a safe and peaceful environment.

We have seen how effective the mobile devices are in addressing crime anywhere in this world. The evidence that is delivered via these devices provides the police force with credible information and at times the people involved in a crime. It makes the job of investigating a crime much efficient and faster to resolve.

I am very supportive of this initiative as Malaysia has the highest smartphone usage percentage in the world and this application will tremendously enhance the monitoring of criminal and negative social activities within our communities. It is an opportunity for the public to play an active role in ensuring the safety and well-being of their respective communities.

While congratulating the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and the police force for this transformation in community policing, I wish to issue a caution on the expectations and deliverables at hand.

I hope those responsible to manage this initiative have done their studies and homework in extreme detail to ensure this will not be a failed initiative in the near future.

My concerns are based on the statement by the police force that they are targeting 4.8 million smartphone users initially. This number may grow as the population increases in the next three to five years as well more users of smartphones come on board.

Having come from the telecommunications industry, I am aware that there are thresholds that enable a particular application or product to function efficiently. Once this threshold is attained, the system will automatically slow down or worst still, shut down. I hope that this new application is built to accommodate the projected as well the unexpected surge in its usage by the public. Since this is an excellent application, I can only foresee a surge in its usage.

The other concern I have is whether the police force has sufficient manpower to manage the expected usage of this application. If we assume 4.8 million smartphone users send just one information/report in a year, the police force will then have to manage an additional 13,000 reports a day. Does the police force have the capability to do so now?

We can also assume that most of these reports are going to be received from urban areas where there is a bigger number of smartphone users. Add that to the possibility of higher number of crimes in these urban areas and you have a higher concentration of reports to manage in urban areas. Is the police force prepared for this sudden rise in reports?

In addition to the above two issues, the police force will also have to deal with false reports done by mischievous individual for cheap fun. Imagine the wastage on resources running after false reports.

Maybe, this initiative could be implemented in stages. For example, we could start with our taxi drivers who are almost everywhere. We could install dashboard cameras on all taxis to help the police monitor traffic offenders. Some form of incentives should be given to encourage them to participate in this initiative. For example, if they provide visual evidence of a motorist breaking a traffic rule, a portion of the summons can be given to the taxi driver as an incentive.

Uber and Grab Car divers could also be roped in for this project. After all, they are all registered and their particulars are available, if needed. This will reduce the number of false reports as well.

The People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) is another registered body that can participate in this initiative. So too any other registered body that have a similar objective as the police force in reducing crime and being the eyes and ears of the police force.

This will make our roads a safer place and indirectly reduce the expenditure incurred by the police force for enforcement activities and manpower to monitor traffic offenders as well as criminal activities.

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