Juvenile crime rate at worrying stage

The number of criminal cases involving students or juveniles is at worrying stage, Education Director-General
Abdul Ghafar Mahmud said.

He said that based on a report submitted by Bukit Aman, they were involved in various social problems and serious crime.

“The problem, if not tackled immediately, will be more difficult for the ministry to overcome social problems, including drug abuse, truancy, bully, gangsterism, extortion and pornography,” he said when unveiling the uniform for the Crime Prevention Club at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Putrajaya, Precinct 8, today.

Later at a media conference, Abdul Ghafar said that based on the 2010 statistics, 1.43 per cent of disciplinary cases were recorded in schools in the country, with 0.32 per cent of them involving criminal cases.

Hence, he expressed the need for all schools to set up the Crime Prevention Club in an effort to achieve zero per cent  crime rate in schools.

He said that so far, 5,587 of the almost 10,000 schools in the country had formed the club.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) vice-chairman, Lee Lam Thye, said the foundation had approved an allocation of RM100,000 for the setting up of the club in schools and its activities.

He said the setting up of the club had proven effective in reducing crime and misconduct among students.