Violent crime in the country has increased by 5 percent since the abolition of preventive laws, inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar said today.

NONE In his speech while officially opening a forum on crime in Kuala Lumpur today, Khalid ( left ) said that in the 20 months before the Emergency Ordinance’s (EO) abolition on Dec 21, 2011, 43,313 cases of violent crime was recorded, compared to 45,664 cases registered in the 20 months after its abolition.

“At this point of time, we (police) are saying that we don’t have enough tools to combat crime. By tools, I’m referring to preventive laws. Though the laws were abolished, there have been no replacement,” he said, reiterating his urging for preventive detention laws to help the police curb crimes.

Murders using firearms for the same period also increased from 64 cases to 130 cases, Khalid said.

Amendments to Crime Prevention Act

azlan He further claimed that an amendment to the Crime Prevention Act might be in the cards to strengthen the police's powers.

"But wait for the lawmakers to make the announcement. We have communicated what we need to them," he said.

Meanwhile, the IGP claimed that the police's crackdown operations through Ops Cantas is yielding results, as violent crime has dropped by 8 percent since the operation started.

"In the two weeks before Ops Cantas and two weeks after, there is a 8.2 percent reduction in violent crimes," he said.

Khalid said that 3,205 people have arrested under Ops Cantas and that about 56 files have been opened against suspected gang leaders and triad members.

"We expect to arrest more (suspects) and will be more aggressive in our operation over the next few days," he said.

He said that triad gangs have not retaliated to the government's move to publicly name the gangs last week.

"No, they are running away. They have not retaliated," he said.

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