Although there are 106,079 police personnel in service, more than 40 percent are doing management or administrative duties, says a focus paper released by Research for Social Advancement (Refsa), a local think tank.
 
"We have enough policemen. We currently have a ratio of one policeman to 270 Malaysians, not far from the 1:250 that Interpol (International Criminal Police Organisation) recommends," states the report titled Staffing the Police - More active policemen please, not more policemen.

NONE However, the less than effective deployment has resulted in those in management or administration serving fewer than two active police personnel on average.

The study says despite a 58 percent dip in crimes reported from 2008 to 2010, 49 percent of the population "feel unsafe and (live in) fear (of) becoming crime victims".

The drop in crime rates followed the redeployment of 14,222 police officers to crime hotspots in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang in 2010 in a recommendation made under the Government Transformation Programme (GTP).

"However our serious crime rate is generally higher compared with other nearby countries. We are outstripped in murder cases only by Thailand, and we have more reported rape incidents than Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong," states the focus report.

Refsa's public policy researcher Lam Choong Wah suggested that the 15,000 members of the General Operations Force (GOF) could be redeployed to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to back up the current 9,000.

According to Lam, the GOF was established to fight the communist insurgents, but as the communists have long laid down arms, and Malaysia has become more developed and urban, it would be much more appropriate to expand the CID unit.

Move cops to core policing functions

Citing the 2005 report by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police Force, Lam said the report stressed on the importance of deploying uniformed police personnel to "core policing functions that require police competencies and powers".

These functions are:

  •  Maintenance of law and order;
  •  Preservation of peace and security of Malaysia;
  •  Prevention and detection of crime;
  •  Apprehension and investigation of offenders; and
  •  Collection of security intelligence.
Meanwhile, other staff or outsourced entities could manage the "non-core policing functions" such as managing human resources, administration and finance, among others.

"The commission estimated that about 20,000 uniformed personnel, or 22 percent of the total 90,256 officers (in 2005), could be freed to go back to active core policing work (and) these (personnel) would be mainly from the management and logistics departments," Lam said.

Refsa suggests that the budget allocated for the police force focuses on "redeployment, retraining and productivity enhancements" and re-tasked to suit the current security needs.

"Let's improve efficiency. There are plans to add 50,000 police officers by 2015. We suggest existing police officers be retrained, redeployed and upgraded instead.

"Lower crime rates and stronger public confidence can then justify salary increases and help develop an even more professional police force," said Lam.

The focus paper also includes a letter , for public endorsement, addressed to the Home Ministry, calling for the improved mobilisation of police officers in crime prevention work.