KUCHING: The Covid-19 pandemic and movement restrictions contributed to a significant decline in Sarawak's crime rate over the last two years, say police.

       State CID chief Senior Asst Comm Lucas Aket said the number of cases dropped by 27% to 4,298 last year compared to 5,874 in 2020 and 6,022 in 2019.

       "The decline in the last two years is largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There were many restrictions in place, including on people's movements.

       "This also restricted (potential) perpetrators, who in fact were also afraid of Covid-19," he told a press conference on the Sarawak police contingent's achievements last year here on Thursday (Jan 13).

       SAC Lucas said many premises were closed during the various movement control orders in the last two years, limiting the opportunities for crime.

       He said the drop was also due to the presence of security personnel who carried out frequent patrols to ensure compliance with movement controls.

       "Many members of the security forces could be seen on patrol and this helped curb crime," he said.

       In addition, SAC Lucas said violent crime and property crime declined by over 20% as well.

       He said Sarawak recorded 599 cases of violent crime last year compared to 785 in 2020, while the statistics for property crime dropped to 3,699 cases last year from 5,089 in 2020.

       "We have seen changes in crime trends due to the pandemic.

       "We continue to welcome information from the public to help fight crime," he said.