The police will be launching a Whatsapp hotline for its Commercial Crime Investigations Department (CCID).
The new director of CCID, Comm Datuk Mazlan Mansor, hopes that the hotline will bring the department closer to the public. He said that the police noticed how those who had lodged reports had difficulties keeping up to date with the progress of their cases.
The plan regarding the hotline is simple. There would be a team to run the hotline. Members of the public can send messages to the police enquiring about their case, and these enquiries will then be reviewed by the team.
Comm Mazlan added that each day, he would be briefed by the team on these enquiries and how to respond to them. It is hoped that this move would help to improve public relations and satisfaction.
A phone number has been acquired for this programme and the system is in the process of being fine-tuned before being rolled out to the public.
This is not the first time such a programme has been carried out, as a similar hotline was launched in Selangor in September last year when Comm Mazlan was the police chief there, reported The Star.
Update: 16th April 2019
The infoline has been launched, with the number 013-2111 222. Having such an infoline will allow the police to receive Whatsapp and SMS messages from members of the public. This makes it easier for the public to channel information, complaints, and enquiries on commercial crimes, according to The Star.
Keeping up with Technology
These programmes stem from a need to keep up with current technology. He said that in this day and age, many people are glued to their mobile phones. Due to this, the Whatsapp hotline approach will likely be well received.
Even if many are unable to access a computer, almost everyone has a mobile phone, he said. He added that he was aware of people claiming that the police would ignore them when seeking help, and this hotline would serve as a way to bridge that gap.
There will be a team assigned to oversee the hotline and matters connected to it. The team is from the CCIS secretariat with an officer and several other personnel on duty there. The team is already in charge of handling walk-in cases and emails, so the hotline is simply a new medium that they will monitor.
When the hotline is launched, the investigating officers and district chiefs will have to be on their toes, he said. All reports will have to be looked into, with an emphasis on giving quick responses.
Comm Mazlan said that the Whatsapp hotline is just another way to connect with the public, and that the SemakMule webpage has long been up and running.
SemakMule is a web portal that allows the public to check if any bank account number or phone number is reported to be involved in fraud cases. If the bank account or phone number has been used in fraud cases before, it will be displayed as such on the site, thus ensuring that the public would not become victims of fraud.
The webpage was launched in 2017, and has over 4.11 million visitors so far. He said that the page would get around 5,000 visitors each day. Last year recorded 2.82 million visitors, and just in the past two months alone, the page already has 492,704 visitors.
The SemakMule page can be accessed here at ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.
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