Johor police focus on 15 crime areas

JOHOR BARU: Police will put more men at 15 crime hotspots in the state to lower the crime rate by 20% as envisioned in the national target.

Among the 15 places identified are Taman Pelangi, Taman Pelangi Indah, Taman Setia Indah, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah in Johor Baru; Taman Bukit Indah in Nusajaya; Taman Johor Jaya and Ulu Tiram in Seri Alam; and Kulaijaya town.

Police would enlist the help of Rela and the Civil Defence Department for the concerted crime prevention operation, said Johor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff.

He added that the places identified were riddled with street crimes such as wayside robberies and snatch thefts.

“We are also setting up a special operations centre at the state CID headquarters to monitor the situation at the hotspots.

“The senior police personnel in charge will look at feedback from the public and analyse every police success and weaknesses at the hotspots,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Johor, he added, recorded a 11.42% decline in crime rate between January and August compared to the same period last year.

On a separate matter, DCP Mohd Mokhtar said six suspects, including two Indian nationals, were arrested and two pistols, as well as 17 rounds of ammunition were seized in several raids.

Acting on a tip-off, police first raided a house in Cornation Park at about 5am on Sunday and arrested a local couple and two male Indian nationals.

Police seized the weapons and the bullets from the same house.

Follow-up operations led police to two other suspects, one in a condominium in town and the other in Taman Sri Tebrau.

All six suspects, aged between 27 and 37, would be remanded until Saturday. Police were still investigating what kinds of crimes the suspects were involved in, said DCP Mohd Mokhtar.

He added that four suspected snatch thieves responsible for 23 cases were picked up at an entertainment outlet in the city.