KUALA LUMPUR: The government has a clear pathway in order to achieve the police response target as mentioned in the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
After being unable to reach the target set in the previous Malaysia Plan, crime analyst Kamal Affandi Hashim believes the government now knows what should be done in order to further reduce the police response target.
"Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the government can learn from previous shortcomings, which they should be fully aware of by now before setting the target for the next five years," he said when contacted today.
Among the measures he expects the government to take is to make sure cops are better equipped in combating crime.
Firstly, he said that the government should replace patrolling vehicles with newer ones to reach the areas in distress quickly.
The newer vehicles can be equipped with the latest technologies in order to quickly locate the areas where help is needed to shorten the response time.
Besides that, he said the government should replace the existing closed circuit television cameras with newer Internet Protocol cameras at hotspots for efficient crime intervention.
Most importantly, he said that the government should ensure the police stations are located within reachable distance once they receive the distress call.
"Under the Local Government Ministry, they have periodic town planning committee meetings and this is where they can decide the placement of amenities for the public.
"If a police station is placed within 10km or 12km from any housing estate or commercial zones, our policemen can respond quicker.
"In the long run, the government will eventually reach the 10 minute response time target under the 12MP," he added.
Under the 12MP report tabled today, the government is aiming to bring down the police response time for distress calls to 10 minutes, which it could not achieve under the 11MP.
During the previous Malaysia Plan, the police response time to distress calls was reduced to 13 minutes, which was five minutes more than the targeted eight minutes.
