Former inspector-general of police (IGP) Musa Hassan has called for crime statistics to be independently verified because some cases may be wrongly classified.

At a press conference yesterday, Musa said that back in 2007, he had initiated such a probe on the Sentul police district after official data showed that crime was down in the area.

"I didn't believe that crime was down (in Sentul), so I asked my officers (from the disciplinary division to check) and found out that there were many mistakes in the classification of reports," he said.

NONE In the case of Sentul, Musa ( right ) said, the discrepancy in figures after the probe was between 20 and 30 percent.

Asked if he believed misclassification of police reports was likely to be happening, Musa replied: "Of course lah , if you don't check."

Prior to his retirement, he said, his administration obtained a government grant that was used to fund a Universiti Sains Malaysia study on crime statistics, but he is currently not privy to the details.

Musa was speaking at a press conference on crime statistics organised by Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch). Musa is the patron of the organisation.

MyWatch has proof

According to MyWatch chairperson Sri Sanjeevan, the organisation has proof that the crime statistics are not accurate and it will reveal details in the near future.

On the proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), Musa reiterated his objections to it on grounds that the proposal included a clause preventing an accused from appealing any decision.

"Even criminals can appeal. How can police personnel not?" he asked, adding that the current Police Commission, which is in charge of promotions and discipline, should be the final body to mete out punitive action.

On the establishment of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM), which replaced the marine police unit, Musa said the multi-jurisdictional body was not efficient.

He said a major part of the marine police's job is in intelligence gathering, which is difficult for the APMM to emulate.

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