Published on 10 Dec 2020
A spate of crimes involving enforcement officers has prompted several public figures to urge enforcement agencies to improve their training to prevent the increase in the number of "bad apples". The latest probe was on two 30-something policemen, each carrying the rank of lance corporal and constable, who were said to have forced a couple to have sex while they recorded their act on their mobile phones on Dec 4. In October, the MACC arrested four senior police officers who were among 10 individuals for their involvement with a Macau syndicate, widely reported by the media. Following that, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador, who repeatedly warned his officers against abuse of power, announced the formation of a special committee to screen police personnel qualified to work in certain departments. Police divisions such as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Narcotics CID, and D7, which deals with vice, gambling and secret societies, were undergoing major revamps. Last month, the MACC nabbed 28 immigration officers in cahoots with the "stamping facility" syndicates at KLIA. A low-rank officer was found to have luxury vehicles such as Phantom Rolls Royce, Mustang and Audi. These were among the recent cases reported by the media. Several public figures interviewed by Malaysiakini shared their thoughts on crimes involving enforcement officers.
Former IGP Musa Hassan
When police officers commit crimes, it shows that their discipline level had declined, and they have no respect for the law. If no standard operating procedure (SOP) was followed, there would bound to be corruption and abuse of power. In general, seven actions should be taken:
a) Stern action against officers and personnel for breaking the discipline, disregarding the Inspector-General of Police's Standing Order (PTKPN), and involving with corruption.
b) Stern action against supervisors or heads for failing to monitor and check their men and failing to take action against them for breaching the SOP.
c) Integrity and Standard Compliance Department and the MACC have to work together to monitor (possible wrongdoings).
d) Training during the service must be frequent for the officers and personnel to sharpen their skills, be aware of the standing orders and the SOP.
e) New recruits must be firmly instilled with disciplines to ensure that they respect the law and SOP.
f) Those who found to have a discipline problem need to undergo intensive retraining.
Alliance For Safety Community chairperson Lee Lam Thye
It is time for all law agencies to find effective ways to enhance integrity. It's something that cannot be compromised. Integrity covers the whole subject of work ethics. Every government department has its own integrity committee, but the question is, are they effective? Why, despite having the integrity committee in each department, we still see a lack of integrity among officers? The government must thoroughly review the integrity committees. Without integrity, there are bound to be problems such as corruption and abuse of power.
Crime analyst Kamal Affendi
If the public is worried about wrongdoing involving enforcement officers, they should also feel relief as the suspects have been arrested. It's the government's policy not to cover-up the abuse of power, and the enforcement agencies don't cover up their investigations. Hence, we can read reports about "bad apples". When some people start their jobs, they only have the knowledge of the system, but as they work their way up, this is where they know the weakness of the system and exploit it. When there is an opportunity in front of their eyes, surely it would become a motivation and desire to commit the crime. An immediate post-mortem must be conducted at all levels to identify the weak spots. We must not be satisfied when the suspects are punished. During the court case, we would be able to indicate the "weak spots". Then, we must seek to fix the weaknesses and close the exploited areas. Kuala Lumpur Crime Prevention Practitioner Association exco Saiful Hamiruzzaman Mohd Hazir. Starting from now, the enrolment to join enforcement agencies must consider the mental health aspect of applicants. For so long, the agencies were focusing on the physical attributes of applicants. Weak mental strength will only lead to poor integrity, which opens up to the abuse of power. Secondly, victims and the public must know their rights when approached by enforcement officers and what they should do.
KLCPPA exco Bok Siew Mun
The police should implement the usage of body camera on their personnel while on duty. The applicants should undergo a thorough background check before joining the force and periodic checks thereafter. However, the public should know that only small police numbers are being investigated, not the whole police force. The police, on the whole, have done a lot to ensure our safety. Hence, we should not let a few rotten eggs tarnish the whole enforcement. On the other hand, severe actions should be taken if they are proven guilty. Crime analyst Shahul Hamid Abdul Rahim. The respective agencies have to review their work SOP to ensure that it's still relevant, and job rotation among officers and personnel must be regularly made. The standard of training and courses have declined. Many departments conduct training just for the sake of it. There's no proper training to encourage the participants to work with integrity and as a team. As for the enrolment of new recruits, every government agency has to review their modules. Perhaps, there are modules which do not achieve the desired standard.
- Mkini
