Lust blamed for police misconduct

The lust for lavish lifestyle leads policemen in losing sight of their main objectives of donning the blue uniform.

SHAH ALAM: The pursuit for pleasure amongst police officers has somehow caused a number of misconducts being highlighted in the media.

With police misdeeds being exposed in the past years, there have been calls by certain quarters for the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC); to monitor the men in blue.

During an interview with FMT the newly appointed Selangor police chief, Mohd Shukri Dahlan admitted that he is aware of the ‘old disease’ in the police force where one yearns to live out a hedonistic lifestyle.

Citing the example of the two policemen allegedly involved in a snatch theft incident in Petaling Jaya last month, Shukri said that age is one of the reasons of misbehavior in the force, as well as other social factors around rookie officers who have yet to sense the real meaning of donning the uniform.

“I know there are police officers who were involved in this (misconduct). Most of them wanted to live in a lavish lifestyle,”

“Young officers who just joined the force and have yet to fully understand the meaning of becoming a police officer, as well as the social atmosphere surrounding them. They don’t want to be left out in a sense,”

“They are exposed to this ‘lust’” he said.

Shukri who has been in the force for more than 35 years, added that Selangor police will implement an old scheme to ensure that his men behave accordingly.

According to Shukri the scheme known as ‘Skim Kawalan Disiplin’ has been established for years but the implementation of the theory was not materialized.

When asked on his readiness to take action on his men if they were found guilty of abusing their power, Shukri said he would not hesitate to take stern action on any of his men.

Ops Cantas timely

Meanwhile Shukri Dahlan also told FMT that the Ops Cantas have been around for quite some time but was not put into action as the situation back then was not as serious as today.

Thousands of suspected criminals and underworld gang members have been arrested since the first day of Ops Cantas. To date many groups have expressed their opinions and insight over the special operation conducted by the Royal Malaysia Police after a series of gun violence involving underworld gangs.

“The call for Ops Cantas is perfectly timed. We did not fully utilize Ops Cantas because our previous challenges was not as heavy as today,”

Meanwhile, Shukri added that the Selangor police force will also be focusing on intelligent policing as to gain more knowledge on criminals as well as their movements to ensure the effectiveness of Ops Cantas.

The senior police officer who was trained in the Special Branch unit insisted that intelligence gathering is important before a special operation is set up.

“We will work on our networking and intelligence. This can come from the members of the public or it could come from any type of sources.”