Traffic offences went up 166%, with police issuing 14 million summonses last year compared to 5.3 million in 2020.
KUALA LUMPUR: The crime index for 2021 showed a drop of 19.3% from 65,623 cases in 2020 to 52,974 cases, according to the statistics department.
The crime index comprises violent crime and property crime. Violent crime dropped 13.4% to 11,495 cases and property crime by 20.8% to 41,479 cases last year.
This was attributed to the movement control order (MCO), which banned social activities and interstate or inter-district travel.
“Stricter enforcement by the authorities and greater public awareness also helped protect against crime,” the report said.
The number of commercial crimes reported to the police in 2021, however, increased by 15.3% to 31,490 cases, compared with 27,323 cases the year before.
About 91.6% (28,842 cases) out of a total of 31,490 cases involved fraud, followed by breach of trust (942 cases), offences under the Moneylenders Act 1951 (847 cases), cybercrime (400 cases) and counterfeit (204 cases).
The number of drug-related cases and arrests reported in 2021 dropped 1.2% and 11.3% respectively to 108,220 cases and 129,604 arrests. However, the number of drug trafficking arrests rose to 25,277 from 23,536 in 2020.
The number of investigation papers opened by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) dropped 3.4% in 2021 to 828 cases compared with 857 cases the previous year.
Sexual crimes involving victims aged 18 and below grew 0.9% to 1,481 cases in 2021 from 1,468 cases in 2020.
Traffic offences rose by 166.2%, with 14 million summonses issued by the police compared to 5.3 million in 2020.
The highest number of arrests reported by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in 2021 involved offences under the Fisheries Act 1985 (575 cases), followed by offences under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 (198 cases) and the Sabah Ports and Harbours Enactment 2002 (178 cases).
The number of children involved in crime dropped 35.3% to 3,457 cases in 2021 from 5,342 cases in 2020.