KUCHING: Padawan police see lower crime rates this year in terms of house break-ins and thefts during the festive season when most residents ‘balik kampong’, said Padawan police deputy chief DSP Merbin Lisa.
When contacted by New Sarawak Tribune, Merbin said his men went on a community project distributing forms for residents to fill up if they were going outstation in “Ops Selamat Gawai Dayak-Aidilfitri Celebration Day”.
“This was to inform the police that their houses or buildings will be empty during the festive period. Empty houses are often preyed on by burglars,” he said.
Merbin said his men started patrolling from May 29 to June 12 at the addresses indicated in the forms. So far this year, 26 forms were passed back to the police and four house owners informed the police through online services that they were going away.
Merbin said normally, in the past people were reluctant or not used to letting the police know that they were travelling outstation.
“Now the trend has changed and they trust the police more to allow us to know how long they will be away.
“With this trust, we ensure that their homes are safe so there were additional patrolling to these addresses even though manpower was limited during the festive season,” he said.
He was glad that so far, no incident was reported.
Merbin added that Padawan police is always ready to meet with the people to gain their confidence and work together to combat crime.
“Just yesterday, we went to the mall and gave out crime prevention leaflets and police phone numbers to the public to call in times of emergencies.
“My men also talked to the people. Through such community policing, we will have a win-win situation as the police can also get information of bad hats and the whereabouts of wanted persons,” he said.
