Chee How on why CCTV is important to deter crimes being committed

State Assemblyman for Batu Lintang See Chee How debating on the private member’s motion on the use of public space CCTV to deter crime in residential estates, today Nov 11, 2014.

Datuk Amar Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to debate on this motion of public interests and bear witness to the fact that this August House is concerned and determined to support efforts to combat crimes in the State.

I will confine my speech on the rampancy of crimes committed in residential estates throughout the state, and pray that we do resolve to play our parts to ensure the safety and security of our Sarawakian homes, through the use of public space CCTV.

The use of public space CCTV has grown from initially to deter 'anti-social behaviour' such as littering in public to now plays a more important role, in deterring serious crimes and to assist the police in their investigations.

Reportedly, Britain is currently the leading nation in implementing CCTV, most British towns and cities are moving to CCTV surveillance in public areas, housing estates, car parks and public facilities.

Other countries are quickly following. North America, Australia and some European countries are installing the cameras in urban environments which a few years ago would most likely have rejected the technology.

In Singapore, it is claimed that the island country has an extensive round-the-clock CCTV surveillance system covers majority of the highways and roads island wide, providing 24 hours visual surveillance on traffic situations.

With the system, authorities are able to response faster to traffic situations. In recent years, there is a vast increase in demand for CCTV applications. Thousands of cameras are installed island wide.

They can be found in various places such as shopping malls, boutiques, bus terminals, MRT stations, underpasses, Automatic Teller Machines ATM, sensitive government buildings, private estates and even extending its application to red-light districts, in an attempt to monitor and deter illegal activities.

Earlier this year, the Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid bin Abu Bakar disclosed that 666 public space CCTV cameras have been installed in Selangor since 2011 and 1000 more will be installed at hotspots in the state under the Safe Camera or SafeCam Partnership project by the Royal Malaysia Police.

In fact, as part of the effort of the government to reduce crime rates under the National Key Result Area, the Malaysian police has recommended and installed huge number of public space CCTV in Johor, Selangor, Penang and Kuala Lumpur, and now expanding to Perak and Kedah.

Hence, public space CCTV is fast becoming an integral plan for crime control policies and social behaviour control theory in an effort to maintain ethnical public behaviour and public order.

In the process of my preparation on this issue of deterring crime through the installation and use of public space CCTV, I have found copious scientific studies conducted in the United States and Europe but none in Malaysia, though I must admit that it could probably be due to my own limitations.

I have, in the process, chosen Scotland as a country for case studies and perused the many public research studies carried out regarding the impact of public space CCTV on Crime in the country. These studies include: Griffiths (2002), Mazzerolle, Hurley and Chamlin (2002), Gill and Spriggs (2005), Gill et al (2006).

In summary, these public research studies carried out and evidence gathered regarding the impact of public space CCTV on Crimes have generally shown that CCTV is most effective in deterring shoplifting and vehicle theft, functional for smaller and less complex areas, positive deterrence effect on anti-social behaviour, but no significant decrease in recorded crime observed for city centres and offenders of serious crimes generally do not perceive the cameras as threatening, no effect in situations fuelled with alcohol.

The studies attributed the effectiveness of CCTV in deterring crimes in 'City Outskirts' and 'Hawkeye' car park where crimes decreased by as much as 73% to the smaller and less complex areas, that such crimes as house-breakings and car thefts involve forward planning, and that this level of involved rationality makes such crime more likely to be deterred by the presence of CCTV cameras.

Last month, our State police chief, Dato Wira Muhammad Sabtu Osman has revealed that the highest crime index figure in the state is house breaking.

His able deputy, the State Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Dr Chai Khin Chung when responding to the press during his visit to the residential estate at Jalan Urat Mata last month said that he is in favour of installing more CCTV to deter and combat crime. 

He encouraged residents in housing estates to join the police ‘Safe Cam Programme’, to monitor areas covered by the programme.

We must urge that the Royal Malaysian Police to step up its effort to promote the ‘Safe Cam Partnership Programme’ which until today is very much unheard of in Sarawak.

And, it appears that Sarawak has been very much left out in the national effort of the government to reduce crime rates under the National Key Result Area.

The requests by our local authorities for installation of CCTV at strategic locations in city centres were sent to the federal government 4 years ago. To date, federal grants have been approved but only to install public space CCTV at 43 locations in Kuching city, starting from this month, as revealed.

I was informed that many local authorities have submitted their requests for installation of public space CCTV as well but their requests have not been approved. It is evidenced that the federal government has been slow in reacting to the requests by our local authorities for installation of CCTV at strategic locations in city centres.

It took 4 years for their grant to install a mere 43 public space CCTV, and only in and around Kuching city.

Taking cognizance of the scientific studies conducted overseas, it appears that it is more practicable to install public space CCTV in smaller and less complicated areas, to deter such crimes as house-breakings and car thefts which involve forward planning and a level of involved rationality makes such crime more likely to be deterred by the presence of CCTV cameras.

I would therefore humbly support the motion in the name of the Honourable member for Nangka, albeit with a little amendment, that this August House do resolved that:

1.         This Honourable House to support continuous efforts by the government to reduce crime rate through bigger crime prevention force and personnel, increase allocation of funds to enhance the anti-crime facilities and technologies, organizing more crime prevention awareness campaign among the public and establishing close cooperation between public and police in combating crime;

2.         This August House is concerned with the rampancy of crimes committed in residential estates and hereby takes cognisance that public space CCTV will help deter such crimes.

3.         That the State Government grants and allocates for local authorities, through a concerted effort with the police and residential groups, to install public space CCTV in major residential estates throughout Sarawak, or make necessary grants and allocations for specified local authorities to carry out pilot projects in designated residential estates to examine the effectiveness of these public space CCTV in deterring such crimes in our homes.