SIBU: The local police will treat every case, even a minor one, seriously in their effort to make the town safe and secure.
Sibu OCPD ACP Stanley Jonathan Ringgit said yesterday that if a place is not safe, folk will migrate elsewhere and this will have negative effects on the local economy.
“In crime prevention, we need to know the situation on the ground for us to take action,” he said when witnessing the handing over of duty between outgoing acting Sibu Crime Prevention and Community Policing Department, ASP Kushairy Bujang and DSP Ariffin Bahar.
ACP Stanley said his department needs the people to report to the police even minor crimes as a way of nipping the problem at the butt.
On their part, the police will launch more beat duties and conduct investigations without fail.
“Previously, maybe we are not aware of smaller cases but from now we are ready to investigate these cases if they are reported to us,” he said citing the arrest of a man who had been stealing water tap heads.
He said this particular arrest led the police to conduct ‘Ops Lusoh’ to prevent buying and selling of secondhand good suspected to be stolen items such as used batteries and scrap metal.
“We have an operation to ensure that shops comply with the regulations set in their trading licence not to buy second hand items with dubious origin,” he said.
On the police’s readiness to pursue aggressive investigations, he said no crime reported with the police will be left unchecked for authenticity.
He said this year the police will conduct ‘Snowball Operation’ to prevent crimes from being bad to worse.
“From this year also, we will make ourselves omnipresent to the public via a three-hour meet-the-people session at different places every Saturday.
“Our first session was last week and it was very satisfactory,” he said.
Meanwhile, DSP Ariffin said his main target is to reduce crime cases in the town, whether they are drug-related or commercial-related.
“Secondly I want to make people feel safer residing in this town. As you all know this year is Visit Sarawak Year, so we will try to meet these two targets.”
Ariffin, with 37 years in the force, said he wants the police here to have more engagement with the public through meet-and-greet sessions, forum, seminars and cultural activities.
He not only made a personal commitment of meeting the standard response time of 14 minutes “but I will try to better that”.
Ariffin’s previous posting was in the bomb disposal unit in Perak for four months.
Of his 37 years in the force, he spent 18 years in Sarawak; the rest in Malaya.
