| Sarawak deploys more tourist police Kuching: The police are deploying addicational personnel in tourist areas to ensure the safety of visitors and have introduced tourist police in Sibu and Miri. Sarawak Commissioner of Police Deputy Comm Datuk Talib Jamal said there were now 20 tourist police personnel here, 15 in Sibu and 10 in Miri. "Last October, we introduced tourist police in Sibu. Not only are tourists happy with having tourist police in their midst, the police presence is also welcomed by the people of Sibu," DCP Talib told reporters after lauhcing a one-stop centre at Kuching police headquarters here recently. He added that personnel from here would be sent to Miri to conduct courses for the tourist police there to beef up their effectiveness and upgrade their skills. On another matter, he said police had been told to watch out for rising water levels while on patrol. "We will then inform the state disaster relief committee," he said, adding that police would also assist in evacuating residents if necessary. On the one-stop centre, DCP talib said it would enable police to take follow-up action quickly on reports lodged by the public. The RM340,000 centre, which began operating last October, provides counter services for inquiries and lodging of reports. Crime and traffic police personnel are also stationed in the centre. "The counter will be manned 24 hours to receive reports and to refer those lodging reports to investigation officers. There are also four patrol cars at the centre to improve the response time to crime scenes," DCP Talib said. He said similar centres would be set up at police headquaters in Sibu, Miri and Bintulu soon. The public can contact the one-stop centre at 082-427139 or the Kuching police hotline at 082-24444. DCP Talib said there were no reports of crime in Kuching's "Golden Triangle" in the first few days of the year which bodes well for Visit Malaysia Year 2007. By Sharon Ling
sharonling@thestar.com.my
The Star
08/01/2007 | 
