EXTORTING men in blue are beginning to worry people. Just this year alone, there have been several alleged cases of extortion. And the ranks of the alleged extortionists are going up in seniority.
On Friday, an assistant superintendent of police and six others from the Cheras Narcotics Crime Investigation Division were arrested for their alleged involvement in extortion and molestation.
The case came to light when a 22-year-old woman lodged a police report on Oct 7, claiming extortion and molest. The incident is said to have happened on Oct 1. Upon receiving the report, police arrested three men. After three days of remand, they are out on bail and the investigation is ongoing.
Later, seven others, including the ASP, were arrested. We must commend the police for the quick action. Be that as it may, the police must also start worrying because such wrongdoing is increasing in frequency. Besides, incidents such as this taint the image of the Royal Malaysia Police.
No compromise, say the police each time such incidents happen. Yet, errancy among men and women in blue rears its ugly head every now and then.
Based on this year's media reports, "every now and then" reads like this: January, March, April, May, July, August, September and October. Some would say the incidents are too frequent to be occasional.
There is no doubt that errant police officers must be rooted out if people are to walk the streets — or in this latest incident, be at home — without fearing being victims of extortion or molest by members of the police force. And it must be done fast.
The longer the errant men and women don the police uniform, the harder Malaysia will find it to be one of the top 25 nations by 2033 in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. We are glad that the Bukit Aman Integrity and Standard Compliance Department, or JIPS, as it is popularly known, will begin a disciplinary investigation into the ASP and six others accused of extorting and molesting the woman.
This disciplinary investigation, alongside the ongoing criminal investigation, is the way to go.
How else could police root out not just extortion, but every wrongdoing in the force? What this Leader has highlighted are cases of extortion among police officers. There have been other wrongdoings, even by very senior police officers. But what they have in common is this: loss of police integrity.
There are at least two things that the force can do to curb police crimes. First, the force must make its recruitment strategies more robust than they are now.
Keeping out the "devils" is a lot easier than extricating them once they are in. For sure, a few devils do get past the robust of all robust recruitment strategies.
This is why, as of late, there has been a growing number of police crimes among officers.
Second, an early-warning system to better identify problem officers would serve the force well. Not that the force hasn't got one, but it, like its recruitment system, needs to be made more robust.