KUALA LUMPUR: The call for policemen to cut ties with “undesirable characters” is timely to restore the professional image of the service that has been damaged in recent years.

Criminologist Associate Professor Dr P. Sundramoorthy said there was no need for the police force to have ties with vice syndicates.

“In the past, maybe having ties with ‘undesirable characters’ was not encouraged, but since it was not discouraged either, it subsequently led to the police misconduct. However, this culture is no longer acceptable. The government and police have been stressing the importance of integrity and ethics.

“The culture of having ties with syndicates, which has been accepted for years, must be eliminated”, he told the New Straits Times.

Earlier, Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador issued an ultimatum for his men to sever ties with criminal organizations before it was too late.

He had said that as long as they had not been nabbed, there was still time for them to disentangle themselves from the underworld.

Sundramoorthy said policemen should take heed of the warning by distancing themselves from criminals.

“Although certain police divisions need to have ties with such syndicates, it should be to obtain information and not to socialise with them.”

“It has become an issue because many police officers developed ‘friendships’ with those involved in illegal gaming and other criminal activities.”

He said there was a need t break the “Blue code of silence” among police officers.

“Since the IGP has set the tone, any underworld association must be stigmatised, and labelled in-appropriate and negative.”

He said should there be a need for any dealing with the syndicates, it should be done discreetly, purely for work purposes and had to be documented.

He said police misconduct could be addressed in many ways.

“Firstly, it can be done via training as part of risk reduction strategies to prevent police officers from being involved in illegal activities.”

“Secondly, through an early warning and intervention system where fellow police officers can intervene to prevent their colleagues from being involved in illegal activities.”

“In the past, you will be condemned or considered a whistleblower, but now whistleblowers don’t have to be secretive anymore. Policemen of any rank can play effective roles in discouraging wrongdoings.”

Former IGP Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said he supported the move for policemen to sever ties with criminal elements.

Several cases of policemen being in cahoots with criminal organizations have cropped up in the past.

In one of the most high-profile recent cases, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officers arrested a police station chief and two policemen in Wangsa Maju here in March for allegedly protecting massage centres which provided sex services.

This article was clipped from New Straits Times.