Police urged to be stringent in following SOP

KUALA LUMPUR: Police should ensure that the proposed new standard operating procedure (SOP) on missing persons' reports is not just a short-term solution to the problem.Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the move to introduce new guidelines was a step in the right direction.It is an appropriate move to ensure greater efficiency and it is of utmost importance for police to constantly monitor and follow up on reported cases.

"Also, once the new guidelines have been implemented, police should be stringent in following the SOP," he said yesterday.Lee added that the police should also beef up their quality of investigators to ensure they have highly trained men on the team. MCPF executive council member Tan Sri Robert Phang felt that it was also mandatory to have a special task force to monitor the high level officers and the progress of the investigations."This task force should monitor the investigators and let them know that they are being watched," Phang said. He also suggested that the task force have a representative from the Home Ministry and from the MCPF.

Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan said the new SOP was a move in the right direction.He said any action taken by police to review their own progress should be lauded."The old system was not entirely ineffective, but the new SOP's straightforwardness will further strengthen investigations as it involved more officers. No single officer can cut corners," Ragunath added.

"Previously, officers in charge of the case were not supervised. Whether or not they have done their work, no one would know," he said further adding that the new SOP would eliminate the uncertainty."Also, the public's confidence will be increased if the police can show results."

Ragunath said the new proposal should be seen as tightening in-house procedures."The changes are not set in stone. It can be reviewed later if it is shown to be ineffective."Ragunath said there was also no need for external parties to intervene in the drafting of the new guidelines as it would only delay the implementation of the new SOP.The proposal for a new SOP came about after police were criticised for the way they handled missing persons' reports in relation to the Banting murders.

A high-level police think-tank is currently mapping out the new guidelines.The new procedures in dealing with missing persons' reports will see more team effort where, previously, only the investigating officer dealt with the case.Under the new SOP, district police chiefs would be held accountable if they had not taken the necessary steps in directing their subordinates.The Immigration department would also be roped in to ascertain if the victim was still in the country.Police would also conduct a check on the victims' credit cards and ATM transactions

Source : http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/10sop/Article