Ghazila Ghazi, *Wan Hartini Wan Zainodin, Azizul Halim Yahya

Abstract:

The Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), like many modern law enforcement agencies, actively engages with the public through social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. In addition, the force has built a community policing mobile application as a strategic communication approach for smartphones called the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP) to prevent crime. A strategic communication approach in crime prevention involves using community-oriented policing and outreach to influence public perception and cooperation with law enforcement efforts. The collaborative efforts with various stakeholders and RMP through the strategic communication has contributed to the effectiveness of crime prevention initiatives. Utilising the case study design, salient discoveries were obtained through in-depth interviews with five exclusive informants among the VSP enforcers from the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department of RMP’s headquarters at Bukit Aman.

Keywords: Community policing mobile application, Volunteer Smartphone Patrol, crime prevention, Royal Malaysia Police, strategic communication