KOTA KINABALU, Aug 18 — The crime index in Sabah has shown an increase of 22.06 per cent from January to July this year with 2,429 cases reported during the period compared to only 1,990 cases in the corresponding period last year.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Idris Abdullah said this placed Sabah as the fourth state in the country with the highest crime index for the first seven months this year.

"The same goes in terms of crime solution rate. Of all the 14 state police contingents, Sabah is also ranked fourth with a 72.3 per cent crime solution rate,” he said in a statement here today.

However, Idris said the number of cases reported in January-July this year was lower compared to the same period in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 when 3,340 cases were reported.

"Sabah Police will strive and continue giving its commitment to reducing the crime index so that the people will feel safe, but this cannot be achieved without cooperation from all quarters.

"Hence, I welcome all quarters to channel any information on dubious activities to the police for the sake of keeping peace and harmony in the state,” he added. — Bernama