The Pakatan Rakyat secretariat today urged the police to reveal the full details of their crime statistics and allow an independent investigation to clear its name from the allegation of crime rate manipulation.

NONE Referring to the police statement rebutting claims of crime data manipulation, the Pakatan secretariat issued a joint statement by PAS election director Hatta Ramli ( left) , DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, saying that the statement failed to refute all the allegations.

"Critical statistical evidence on crime levels and the classification of cases have not been revealed by the police... much of the information has been partial, or has merely described textbook procedure when it is their actual practice that is in question," they said.

The issue first arose after an anonymous letter , purportedly written by a police officer with 30 years of experience, explained how the crime index could be artificially lowered, including by classifying offences into non-index categories.

The letter surfaced amidst public suspicion that the crime figures provided had been doctored, due to a mismatch between the government's claims of a drop in the crime rates and the frequency of crime stories carried by the media or circulated through social media channels.

NONE However, police public relations office had issued a point-by-point rebuttal on Tuesday, saying that the allegations in the anonymous letter had many factual inaccuracies and surmised that the author, if indeed a police officer, would not have been long with the force.

Audited data vital to clear doubts

The three Pakatan leaders noted that the anonymous letter had claimed that various index offences of robbery, burglary, and causing hurt have been misclassified as non-index offences under Sections 148, 382, 452, and 453 of the Penal Code.

The letter called for the data for cases filed under these sections to be revealed but the police have only done so for Section 148 cases, said the trio.

"The audited data for the other three categories should be revealed to clear any further doubt. The police should open itself up to an independent assessment to remove any doubt in the public's mind as to their integrity."

pm open house 190812 najib The three lawmakers claimed that the police have not made their annual report available on their website since 2010, when Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ( left ) introduced the crime National Key Result Areas (NKRA).

On the deployment of police personnel, the trio claimed that the police force has admitted that it lacks sufficient investigating officers to service the public.

"As of 2011, there were only 9,346 police in criminal investigation. Meanwhile, there are a whopping 32,656 in Internal Security and Public Order (including units tasked to fight communists) and 43,343 in management.

"Surely thousands of police personnel could be usefully re-tasked from fighting communists and desk-jobs to protecting the public from crime?" they asked.

The trio also questioned the eligibility of those leading the Crime NKRA.

"It is concerning that despite the presence of highly qualified current and former personnel in the police force, including PhD holders, that the Crime NKRA is being spearheaded by someone whose background is in management consultancy and computer engineering.

"Even a lawyer or criminal sociologist would seem to be a more appropriate choice for such an important area," they added.

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