Rakan Cop a great success

By TEH ENG HOCK

JOHOR BARU: It was a botched bank robbery but the two men who tried to rob the bank in Taman Pelangi were arrested within 24 hours, thanks to the Rakan Cop system. 

State Rakan Cop public affairs officer C/Insp Hassani Hussain said that they received about 10 reports on the robbery from members of the public which led to the arrest of the duo on Jan 18. 

“There are many success stories from the Rakan Cop system. The SMS reports we get range from accidents, narcotics, prostitution and gambling. 

“From January last year until today (Feb 13), we have received 6,249 SMS reports on various cases,” he said in an interview. 

He said the number of Rakan Cop members have grown steadily to 12,456. 

C/Insp Hassani said, last month alone, the Rakan Cop programme managed to help the police crack down on VCD pirates in Johor Baru, a house break-in case in Taman Melodies and a car hijacking along Jalan Tebrau. 

“We also managed to detain three Chinese nationals suspected to be involved in vice in Batu Pahat last month. This was also from a tip off via the Rakan Cop system, and all three women did not possess valid travel documents,” he said. 

To emphasise his point, C/Insp Hassani pointed out that between Jan 29 to Feb 11, the police received 107 SMS reports. 

“These include four related to commercial crime, four on drugs and nine on violent crime,” he said, adding that the public were now willing to come forward to provide information. 

C/Insp Hassani urged more people to join the programme as the early success has proven the effectiveness of the programme in combating crime. 

For the Chinese New Year festive period, the police have organised a Safe Home Campaign in collaboration with The Star. 

The campaign is similar to that held during the Deepavali and Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations last year, where residents are encouraged to inform the police of their absence during the festive season. 

Those leaving for their hometowns can get the campaign forms in StarMetro South-East today or from the nearest police station. Completed forms can be faxed to 07-2240115. 

The public can also inform the police via SMS to POLISJOH - 32728 or their hotline 07- 2212999.