According to the department’s Crime Statistics, Malaysia 2025 report, property crimes remained the most prevalent, surging 12.4% to 47,188 cases, while assault crimes registered an increase of 5.9%, reaching 11,067 cases.

“Despite the overall rise, the report recorded a positive development in homicide cases, with intentional homicides declining by 9.5% to 237 cases while non-intentional homicides remained unchanged at two cases.

“Kidnapping incidents also showed a slight reduction, with 17 cases reported in 2024,” it said, adding that children had accounted for 11 of these cases.

The department said sexual crimes presented a mixed picture, with rape cases increasing by 12.1% to 1,899 cases. Rape without force increased 29.3% while rape with force declined by 15.3%, suggesting shifts in reporting or perpetration patterns.

Robbery cases saw a notable 6.8% decrease, totalling 4,276 cases, most of which involved robbery from individuals (41.7%), followed by other forms of robbery (38.2%), incidents targeting establishments or institutions (13.5%) and vehicle-related robberies (6.7%).

House break-ins and cases of theft also fell slightly by 1.8%, with 77.6% of these offences occurring during the night.

The department said drug-related cases involving the supply of drugs and possession continued to climb with a 10.6% increase, bringing the total to 81,090 cases.

“Drug supply cases rose by 4.6% while possession cases jumped by 12.7%, reflecting intensified enforcement and possibly increased substance use,” it said.

Arrests in bribery cases involving the giving and accepting of bribes surged by 24.6%, with 764 individuals apprehended.

“(Cases of) giving bribes rose sharply by 51.2% while (cases of) accepting bribes increased by 20.3%, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat graft,” the department said.

Economic crimes also intensified, with 2,243 cases of misappropriation of controlled goods recorded – a 19.1% rise from the previous year.

Diesel was the most commonly misappropriated commodity at 30%, followed by petrol (26.7%), cooking oil (19.8%), sugar (10.1%), liquefied petroleum gas (9.1%) and wheat flour (4.4%).

The department said health and safety at work offences recorded the steepest rise, increasing by 71.1% to 296 cases. The manufacturing sector accounted for over half of these offences (57.4%), followed by construction (27.4%) and business services (8.1%).

It said animal-related crimes remained minimal, dropping to 12 cases involving cruelty and welfare violations, while sea robbery continued to be rare, with no cases reported in 2024 compared to a single incident in 2023.

It said correctional statistics also reflected significant changes, with the number of convicted prisoners increasing by 28.4% to 128,916.

Male inmates made up the overwhelming majority at 90.9% while female prisoners accounted for 9.1%, it said.