Kelantan police get the flak for arrest quota order
The Kelantan police chief has mandated a daily quota for drug-related arrests, sparking criticism from rights advocates and lawyers. Critics argue that this KPI-driven approach could lead to wrongful arrests, corruption, and a lack of professional integrity within the force.
Why it matters
Implementing arrest quotas can incentivize police misconduct and undermine the judicial process by prioritizing numbers over evidence.
Rights advocates fear that setting a quota for drug arrests could result in abuses such as corruption among police officers. (Rawpixel pic)
PETALING JAYA: The Kelantan police’s key performance indicator (KPI) approach to crime fighting has raised fears that it could result in abuses but fail to reduce criminal activity.
Two lawyers who voiced their misgivings expressed concerns that it could lead to wrongful arrests but fail to reduce problems such as drug abuse or criminal activity.
M Visvanathan, who chairs the rights group Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody Together (Edict), sees it as a lack of professionalism in the force, while S Vinesh is concerned that it will restrict people’s liberty.
Yusoff Mamat.
They were responding to a statement by Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat that every station in the state must now make at least one drug-related arrest daily.
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