STUDENT CRIME TREND 'WORRYING'

More and more students are getting involved in violent
crimes and drug abuse in the state and the police are getting very
worried.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Hassan said that
students from secondary schools and institutes of higher learning had
been caught for a variety of crimes including rape, robbery, fights
and house break-ins.

Last year, of the 409 juvenile reports, 62 cases or 15.2% involved
students and many of them involved theft and property crime, he said
at the launch of the Rakan Cop and state-level anti-crime campaign
for secondary students here yesterday.

"I hope that the education department, lecturers, teachers and
parents will pay attention to this problem and take steps to monitor
the activities of these youths," he said.

"If parents suspect their children are involved in unhealthy
activities like drugs, my advice is that you take early action by
seeking necessary help from the relevant authorities instead of
letting the problem become really serious," he added.

Comm Mokhtar also urged teachers to be proactive by sending students
they suspect of involvement with drugs to police stations to undergo
urine tests.

"As long as we fear or do not want to take drastic action, the drug
problem among students will continue and, if left unattended, will
spread like cancer," he added.

On Rakan Cop, he said a total of 3,486 people in Sabah had registered
during the state-wide crime prevention campaign launched a year ago
at more than 20 police district headquarters.