Amanita engages with housewives

(From left) Jamaliah Jamil, Sarifah Hazizul Rahman, ASP Sharifah, Sarah Juwita Abd Rahman and Rohayati Radzalie who are full-time police officers are also part of the Amanita team.

ASP Sharifah Mohd Nawani changes from her dark blue police uniform and dons a long-sleeved light purple top paired with black pants to speak to housewives at the Amanita programmes in neighbourhoods.

Amanita is a special unit by the police for female officers to engage with housewives on reducing crime in neighbourhoods.

Sharifah, who is from the Selangor Amanita Social Secretariat Biro, said Amanita consisted of female police officers in the country.

“The Amanita unit goes to urban neighbourhoods, malls and villages to engage with housewives and women in general. We hand out brochures and talk to them. Since we are dressed in less formal clothes, the housewives are more relaxed when they speak to us.

“We gather information from them regarding suspicious activities such as houses turned into drug processing dens.

“They will inform us if there is a spot in their neighbourhood that is frequented by suspicious characters.

Amanita team member Nurul Huda Abdul Jalil sharing her contact details with a housewife during the polices outreach programme in neighbourhoods.

“Sometimes they inform us of neighbours’ children who are involved in vice activities.

“We also get information on cases of child abuse.

“We then channel the information received to the respective departments for follow- up and enforcement,” said Sharifah.

The Amanita team use Amanita scooters and cars bearing the Amanita stickers on it when on duty for these programmes.

In Selangor, each of the 16 districts has its own Amanita head officer who arranges the line up of outreach activities based on their areas.

“We also carry out Taman Angkat programmes.

“We have adopted the Taman Desa Vista park in Sepang. This area, in the past, had robbery-related issues but since we adopted this park with the help of residents, it has improved a lot,” she said.

Sharifah said Amanita also provides crime-related talks at schools and children feel comfortable with their presence.

“We want the public to know of Amanita and invite us to join their neighbourhood activities. We have plans to do engagement at hospitals in the future,” she added.