ONE street crime that could frighten tourists and visitors away from Sarawak — if nothing is done to nib it quickly — is the mugging of people even in broad daylight along the busy streets of the state capital especially.

The frequency of such stick-ups occurring tends to give the impression the city has become a crime-prone destination.

The latest reported case of a young Japanese visitor who suffered bloody injuries while trying to fend off five men who attempted to rob him in the vicinity of Kuching’s Golden Triangle is not an isolated one. There have been similar incidents happening there and long-term measures have to be taken to prevent them.

It’s not only tourists and visitors to our city, touted in travel brochures as a clean and safe destination, who are being singled out by snatch thieves, often armed with some kind of weapons, but also locals, especially defenceless women walking by themselves in downtown Kuching near the supposedly secure tourist belt and the banking centres.

Public concern is not only over the lack of surveillance but also preventive action in crime-prone areas in and around the city centre. If enforcement of crime-prevention measures were both consistent and effective, the incidence of mugging, snatch theft and other forms of street crimes could be kept well in hand. Pedestrians, shoppers and generally, office workers who have to walk some distance to their workplace would at least feel safe and at ease taking to the city streets. However, surveillance and patrols alone may not provide the answer to the problem. There is a real need to trace and grapple with the root cause — why the increase in street crime targeted at both locals and foreigners alike by individuals or groups, often armed to intimidate their victims into parting with their cash or valuables or both.

Furthermore, why are people turning more and more to committing crime in such a brazen manner — robbing their victims in broad daylight with nary a worry about law enforcement.

No doubt, the authorities are aware of the problem and taking action. The question is whether the action taken is adequate. Perhaps more uniformed personnel could be placed on beat in certain known notorious areas as their presence alone will go a long way to deter the thugs. In fact, this is a long-standing public request but it has never been seriously followed up by law enforcement due to what it calls “not enough manpower.”

Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see young people, especially students after school hours, hanging around some shopping complexes and entertainment joints. The difficulty is telling those out there just to while away their time from those with more sinister intentions in mind.

Of course, there are also foreigners who may be up to mischief or in a more serious vein, planning to resort to violence in staging daring daylight grabs, often at knife or gunpoint.

True, the police alone may not be able to bring all the bad hats to book and as such, the public could play a role to help maintain law and order by assisting victims – if they happen to come across one — to the nearest police station to lodge reports or, if the situation warrants, take them to the nearest hospital for treatment. Or they could even help make a citizen’s arrest within the ambit of the law.

Also of public concern is the rise in petty crimes, especially among adolescents who loiter in public places not only making a nuisance of themselves but also posing a public threat as potential shoplifters and pick pockets.

As a remedy, it may be a good idea to encourage the younger generation to get together in an organised and orderly milieu such as in the 1960s when youth clubs were formed to enable young people to assemble for wholesome recreational and social activities. Whatever has happened to setups like the Cavern Youth Club that used to operate from a building at the Reservoir Park?

Let young people organise their programmes through registered bona fide youth clubs. It’s when such avenues are not available that they move to pubs and booze and not infrequently, run foul of the law.

Whatever, the bottom-line is still to examine what lie behind many of today’s societal problems, in particular, the growing crime rate as manifested by muggings, snatch thefts, hooliganism, house break-ins and more ominously, robberies in broad daylight. Panaceas for combating crime would be mere chimeras unless the underlying cause is duly looked into and rooted out.