Mazlan said the total number of criminal cases recorded in the city from January to last Saturday had reached 11,815 cases.

He said since there had been an increase of 57% in snatch theft cases this year, police would carry out various initiatives to curb such crime.

“In order to curb snatch theft cases, we will launch the anti-snatch theft and unarmed robbery campaign in the near future.

“I have also instructed the Kuala Lumpur Crime Investigation Department to form a strategic partnership with the D4 division (crime intelligence) and D9 (special investigation) to tackle such cases,” he told reporters after attending the Kuala Lumpur police contingent monthly assembly, here today.

He said police would also conduct crime prevention through more effective community surveillance involving residents and police.