KUALA LUMPUR: The number of violent and property crimes in the city showed a decrease of seven per cent last year compared with 2006.

City CID chief Senior Assistant Commissioner II Ku Chin Wah said there were 29,473 cases reported last year, down from 31,740 cases the previous year.

However, several categories within the crime indexes showed a sharp spike.

“These numbers are calculated based on the reports lodged by victims in the five districts under the city police contingent — Dang Wangi, Brickfields, Cheras, Sentul and Putrajaya,” said Ku.

The biggest increase in violent crimes was seen in unarmed gang robbery with a 95 per cent increase.
However, the increase could have been caused by a reclassification exercise conducted by police late last year.

Before October, 2007, gang robbery was classified as robbery committed by five or more people. From October onwards, it was classified as robbery committed by more than one person.

The other upward trend in violent crime was the 55 per cent increase in rapes, from 147 to 228 cases.

In property crimes, the biggest increase was in house break-ins committed at night, with 2,489 cases — 448 cases higher than 2006.