Call the COPS

A Puchong-based community policing NGO believes that it can be the ‘bridge’ between residents and the police to combat crime

PETALING JAYA: If there’s someone suspicious lurking in your neighbourhood, who do you call?

Ask former policeman Kuan Chee Heng, who leads a rapidly-growing group called Community Policing (COPS), and he would probably say: “Call us… or our friends in blue”.

Community Policing is basically the collaboration of residents and police in combating crime. And perhaps Kuan can be forgiven for claiming exclusive rights to the term “community policing”: the achievements his group has made so far seem quite impressive.

Although there are many other groups doing community policing work, COPS claims to have the most members in the country, with 60,000 to date.

Its operates from a shoplot in Puchong Utama, Selangor, and maintains contact with its members located all over the country.

Kuan also claims to be among the “most organised”. Every day, some 200 volunteers patrol the streets in some 30 to 40 areas in the Klang Valley and beyond. On Saturdays, Kuan estimates up to 800 COPS members on duty.

“In one week, we get maybe six to seven cases, so on average we have one case a day,” he told FMT in a recent interview.

In 2007, former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan introduced community policing as part of the Royal Malaysian Police’s (PDRM) Five-Year Strategic Plan for 2007-2011, where he made it compulsory for all police stations to have a community policing team.

“I was roped in during 2008, and in 2009, I established COPS.org.my for everyone to share information online more freely,” said the 50-year-old businessman, who, prior to serving in the force for six years, was a florist.

In March 2011, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak himself officially launched Kuan’s movement as an official NGO.

To make everything even more official, COPS volunteers wear uniforms that openly display the PDRM logos, and even practise a “ranking system”.

However, Kuan stressed that the group is strict when it comes to the usage of the PDRM logo despite being sanctioned by the police.

“We don’t tolerate any nonsense. We had one of our members who was arrested for having an unauthorised shirt; he obtained a police-like uniform from outside and that’s unacceptable,” he said.

Just ordinary citizens

Asked how COPS is able to obtain such blessing and support from the police and Najib himself, Kuan promptly replied firmly: “Sincerity.”

“I have never shirked from my duties, anyone can call me on my cellphone, anytime, and I will be there,” he added.

On whether COPS will get in the way of real policemen, Kuan replied: “We don’t get in their way, we are here to complement them. And we have no authority to act like the police, no powers are accorded to a COPS member, no handcuffs; we are just ordinary citizens, helping out in whatever way we can.”

During the interview, groups of men would come in and out of his office reporting for duty and Kuan would instruct them to cover certain areas while signing attendance sheets.

“As you can see, we’re very organised here. Our ranking system does not really give our men any powers. We just differentiate our guys from street reps, area reps, zone reps and district reps,” he said.

Explaining the rationale behind the separated groups, Kuan said this prevents things from becoming haphazard.

“We want street reps to know the jalan [streets] they are patrolling inside out, which is exactly how we prevent crime,” he added.

Kuan said that COPS essentially applies the same SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment) model used by law enforcement agencies worldwide.

“First, we scan and identify the biggest problem in an area: is it robbery, or even stealing panties, something which cannot be taken lightly as it may lead us to a potential rapist.

“Then we analyse the modus operandi – the who, how, when, and the kinds of losses.

“Third is respond. We identify how the criminal escapes and we try to bring in resources from the police, local council, put in CCTVs, whatever it takes to stop it,” he said.

“Lastly, we assess. After three months of work, we come back and look at whether the crime has reduced. If we haven’t addressed the situation, we go back to the drawing board,” he added.

Kuan said aside from patrols, identifying potential problems in their communities and providing tip-offs to the local police, COPS also tries to educate the public.

“We tell people that the most important thing when we see a snatch thief on a motorcycle is the colour of his helmet and the colours of the shirts. Ignore the numberplates because they are usually false,” he said.

Regulate number plates

Kuan said that is also a reason why COPS wants to push the government to come up with a new policy to regulate number plates.

“It’s been the most frustrating problem. It’s so easy to get a fake number plate. And it can be solved so easily: limit number plates only to an authorised dealer,” he said, adding that those found with false plates should face mandatory jail sentences.

He said that the system is already in place in countries like Thailand, the Philippines, US and Indonesia, where a number plate is a controlled item.

Kuan also said it is important to identify your belongings such as recording serial numbers on handphones and laptops in case these items are stolen.

He said that currently, COPS has been successful in being “the bridge between the rakyat and police”.

“Let’s tear down the walls between the public and police. If you want your community to be safe, you can’t wait for the police to come to you, people must go to the police,” he said.

While Kuan emphasised on teamwork with the authorities, he said that the public and COPS “should not tolerate nonsense from the police”.

Stop talking, start fighting

But the people who bother Kuan the most are politicians.

“Why are politicians defending criminals, who get 5-star treatment? Why are we giving so much human rights to those who wouldn’t even blink when chopping up our families?

“I’m angry at politicians who play with the issue but don’t come up with solutions. No matter if you’re from Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, forget about the cheap political milleage and fight crime together,” he added.

Kuan also said he felt that COPS has made the biggest success by being able to lure more youth to join the group.

“They [the youth] can gain a sense of belonging. We are all proud to do for free one and a half years now… and I’m happiest when young people’s parents tell me their children behaved better after they came to me,” he added.

In conclusion, Kuan said: “In our lives, we must do something worthwhile, and this is what I do.”