Leveraging VSP community policing apps: Royal Malaysia Police’s strategic communication approach to crime prevention

• Published in: SEARCH Journal of Media and Communication Research
• Main Author: Ghazi G.; Zainodin W.H.W.; Yahya A.H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor's University Lakeside Campus 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85204699754&doi=10.58946%2fsearch-SpecialIssue.ICOMS2023.P6&partnerID=40&md5=4e779a25845e0d63c56a295c729307dc

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. The coding process which comprises of open, axial and selective coding was conducted using the NVivo 12.0 software and thematic analysis was employed. The findings identified four key themes for the reasons behind the utilisation of VSP as a strategic communication in crime prevention by RMP: (1) precision policing; (2) identity protection; (3) inform and shape law enforcement operations; and (4) awareness. Evidently, VSP is the only mobile app in Malaysia that connects citizens and law enforcement officers on a single platform, ensuring private and secure crime information channelling. Thus, this study provides practical implications into the rationale for RMP’s utilisation of VSP as a strategic communication tool in preventing crime, especially as a viable alternative to traditional methods. VSP promotes the importance of enhancing crime reporting and the need for technology to keep up with new features. © SEARCH Journal 2024.