Police Warn Public Over Thefts: Vientiane
Vientiane police are continuing their warnings to the public about the prevalence of bag snatching and vehicle theft, both of which are occurring almost daily in the capital.
The office’s Interrogative and Investigative Section told Vientiane Times on Tuesday they were receiving frequent reports from district police and village security officials about these problems. “Some victims only provide information but others ask officials to try to identify the thieves from closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.”
Deputy Chief of the section Major Am-ay Luangpakdy said they had received orders from the top to track down any individuals suspected of carrying out these crimes because there seemed to be such a large number of thefts in Vientiane.
“Most of the information we get from district police consists of notes and some sketches of the suspects from which they ask us to carry out an investigation and solve the case. But sometimes they are able to provide us with a video clip of the incident which makes it much easier for us to identify and apprehend criminals,” he added.
In response to public concerns, Major Am-ay said they couldn’t always arrest suspects even when they were given a video clip.
“But we have a special team to investigate the situation whenever we receive a CCTV video clip. We order district officials to identify the target on the video before following him or her to make an arrest.”
He added that once an identification is made the police always arrest the suspects so they have no idea why people complain that they fail to arrest criminals.
The police asked the public to have confidence in their work, saying the most important part of their job is to protect the public and ensure a peaceful society.
Vientiane is a big city undergoing huge socio-economic development so it is impossible to eliminate crime. The police can arrest many offenders but when they are put behind bars there will always be more to take their place.
Members of the public should take better care of themselves because the criminals of today are different from those in the past. They have new methods and technology to help them carry out their crimes, so it is up to the public to be alert at all times.
The officer also raised the case of a man who snatched a bag from a woman at a Vientiane hospital on Monday. “The male suspect was one of the targets we had been investigating and we are confident we will apprehend him soon, as we have video evidence of his crimes.”
Source: Vientiane Times