The rate of murders per 100,000 population in Malaysia has remained at two or three for the last 30 years, but the number of murders has gone up in tandem with population increase, according to a criminologist.

P Sundramoorthy, associate professor of criminology at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said one could not conclude that the number of murders had risen without taking into account the ratio per population.

The situation in Malaysia was under control and it would be wrong to say that the country was unsafe when many other countries reported more cases of serious crimes, he told Bernama after a roundtable on the National Key Results Area (NKRA) for crime reduction at Wisma Bernama in Kuala Lumpur.

Sundramoorthy said many factors contributed to crime, including the economic and political situations, culture, moral decadence and environmental influences.

He also said that many of the murders and rapes were committed by those who were related to or knew the victims, such as family members, neighbours or friends.

"Murders and rapes, for example, are usually not planned but occur on the spur of the moment driven by emotions, such as anger.

"Sometimes the offenders are those we hardly suspect ... our relatives, neighbours, office colleagues or relatives of friends," he said.

Rape victims more ready to come forward

Sundramoorthy said victims of rape were bold enough to come forward and report the matter now compared to the past when they preferred to remain silent due to embarrassment.

"The number of rape cases also seems to be rising but actually there is greater awareness among women and they are bold enough to come forward and report the matter.

"As such, more cases of rape do not necessarily mean that there is a higher incidence of the crime," he said.

Sundramoorthy said the police had taken the best measures and approach to curb crime in the country, but much more remained to be done to achieve the desired objective.

He said the police should conduct a study to find out the level of confidence of the people in the police force, and that it should be done in a transparent manner and the outcome made public.

"Usually, a survey is carried out involving only 1,000 people of various levels, but it does not actually reflect the voice of the majority.

"I feel such a survey will not be accurate because it is not the voice of the majority.

"The police should find another way, such as by way of a poll, to determine the confidence level of the people in the police force," he said.

- Bernama