He said it was vital for the police to keep up, and strengthen their expertise.

“Nowadays, criminals have new means of engaging in fraudulent activities and the crimes are getting more complex as they are no longer domestic-based but have gone beyond borders.”

“For example, previously, when gambling, only playing cards were used but now betting is done online. And the same goes in recruiting terrorists, there are no physical dealings, and love scams, which were never thought of before, have resulted in billion ringgit losses,” he said in a special interview in conjunction with Police Day.

The celebrations, to mark the 212th anniversary of the founding of the force, have the theme, “Polis dan Masyarakat Berpisah Tiada”.

He said the police had organised the 1Mosque 1Police (1M1P) programme to encourage community involvement in crime prevention, and similar programmes with churches and temples to enable the public to be the eyes and ears of PDRM.”

Fuzi said though the crime rate in the country had been decreasing each year but people generally still did not feel safe.

The police will carry out research, to be conducted by an independent party, specifically into the public’s perception of feeling safe.

Last year the crime rate dropped by 11.9%, he said.

Fuzi reminded members of the police force to maintain high standards of integrity and be free from corruption.

“I was very disappointed to learn some of our members were detained by the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) recently for engaging in illicit activities. I want my men to remain clean … I do not want a culture of corruption among our members because this will affect the performance of the organisation,” he said.