KUANTAN: The Pahang police contingent has introduced special tactical shooting training to further enhance safety at police stations and strengthen firearms handling across the state.
Pahang police deputy chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin said the training session, which began from June 1 intil July 12, was part of the measures taken by the contingent to step up security at police stations to prevent incidents like the Ulu Tiram attack in Johor from recurring.
He said the training was divided into four zones and involved 130 policemen attached to the camp commandant, palace branch and those stationed at all the 11 districts across Pahang.
"The series on firearm tactical training will help boost the defence mechanism at police stations and prepare our men to handle challenging situations. The standard operating procedures (on shooting) are already in place, but we want to increase the tactical skills.
"The training session is vital to ensure policemen are always prepared when carrying out their duties as frontline officers on the ground. They are also exposed to police station defence security, including the use of firearms when under pressure in case of an emergency," he told reporters after the state police contingent's monthly assembly here today.
Meanwhile, Noor Hisam, who mooted the idea to organise the tactical shooting training in Pahang, said he felt that it was timely following the spate of violent threats to domestic security in the country including at Ulu Tiram, Datuk Keramat, police station in Penang and Istana Negara.
He said the shooting training was conducted by eight experienced trainers from the police's Special Actions Unit and Serious Crimes Investigations Department here.
He also said more stringent checks will be conducted at the front gates of police stations across Pahang before allowing the public to enter the premises especially at night, as part of the security measures.
"Only those with genuine reasons will be allowed to enter the station and we will not allow huge groups to gather at the premises. All visitors will have to provide details about their visit at the sentry post before entering as we want to prevent people from moving around freely," he said.
Yesterday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said police stations nationwide were instructed to close their gates after 10pm as part of security measures.
In his speech earlier, Noor Hisam said losses from commercial crime cases this year recorded a RM31.7 million increase from January to June compared to the first six months of 2023.
"Last year, Pahang recorded 1,137 cases with losses amounting RM22.1 million between January and June. This year, although the number of cases in the first six months this year has dropped to 1,037, the total loss recorded was RM53 million," he said.