<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Nov 11, 2008
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Crimes to rise in bad times <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Khushwant Singh
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
The link between crime and recessions has been proven in studies in Britain, which is bracing itself for an anticipated 19 per cent increase in violent crime, and more thefts and burglaries. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
WHEN the going gets rough, criminals get going.
Senior Japanese police superintendent Yoshihiro Mukaiyama said crimes usually spike in bad times and urged police to strengthen ties with the community.
Citing an example, he said cases of illegal money-lending rose significantly in Japan during the Asian economic crisis in 1997.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 14th international seminar on community policing on Tuesday, he said that theft and fraud could also rise if the financial crisis worsens.
The link between crime and recessions has been proven in studies in Britain, which is bracing itself for an anticipated 19 per cent increase in violent crime, and more thefts and burglaries.
While there has been no similar studies done here, statistics show that crime does post an increase in bad times.
Theft and related crime registered 27,778 cases in 1998 - the peak of the Asian economic crisis - up from 24,754 the previous year, before falling to 21,554 in 1999.
In his welcome speech, Mr Masagos Zulkifli Masagos Mohamad, Senior Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs, is confident that the police can be more effective in fighting crime and maintaining law and order through community policing.
By collaborating actively with the community, the police force here has ensured low crime rates in the past five years, he said.
About 30 delegates from 18 countries, including Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and Belize, are attending the three-day seminar, which will highlight the Koban community policing system of Japan and Singapore's neighbourhood police centres.
Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Lawzi of the Jordanian police force, told reporters that the Koban system was introduced in his country in 2005 and there are now about 500 community policing stations.
'Constant police presence in locations close to citizens has improved security and reduced crime,' he said.
However, senior superintendent Miguel Angel Segura told The Straits Times that while community policing had been introduced in Belize, there were still police officers who are skeptical about its effectiveness. 'I hope to learn how to promote the Koban concept more effectively at this seminar,' he said.
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Crimes to rise in bad times <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Khushwant Singh
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
The link between crime and recessions has been proven in studies in Britain, which is bracing itself for an anticipated 19 per cent increase in violent crime, and more thefts and burglaries. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
WHEN the going gets rough, criminals get going.
Senior Japanese police superintendent Yoshihiro Mukaiyama said crimes usually spike in bad times and urged police to strengthen ties with the community.
Citing an example, he said cases of illegal money-lending rose significantly in Japan during the Asian economic crisis in 1997.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 14th international seminar on community policing on Tuesday, he said that theft and fraud could also rise if the financial crisis worsens.
The link between crime and recessions has been proven in studies in Britain, which is bracing itself for an anticipated 19 per cent increase in violent crime, and more thefts and burglaries.
While there has been no similar studies done here, statistics show that crime does post an increase in bad times.
Theft and related crime registered 27,778 cases in 1998 - the peak of the Asian economic crisis - up from 24,754 the previous year, before falling to 21,554 in 1999.
In his welcome speech, Mr Masagos Zulkifli Masagos Mohamad, Senior Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs, is confident that the police can be more effective in fighting crime and maintaining law and order through community policing.
By collaborating actively with the community, the police force here has ensured low crime rates in the past five years, he said.
About 30 delegates from 18 countries, including Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and Belize, are attending the three-day seminar, which will highlight the Koban community policing system of Japan and Singapore's neighbourhood police centres.
Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Lawzi of the Jordanian police force, told reporters that the Koban system was introduced in his country in 2005 and there are now about 500 community policing stations.
'Constant police presence in locations close to citizens has improved security and reduced crime,' he said.
However, senior superintendent Miguel Angel Segura told The Straits Times that while community policing had been introduced in Belize, there were still police officers who are skeptical about its effectiveness. 'I hope to learn how to promote the Koban concept more effectively at this seminar,' he said.
