Police stations operating normally even with 10pm gate closure, says IGP

KUALA LUMPUR: The closing of the front gates of police stations after 10pm nationwide will not disrupt its service to the public, says Tan Sri Razarudin Husain.

The Inspector-General of Police said the measure would be fully implemented once the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the directive is completed by the Bukit Aman Management Department.

“For now, the directive is implemented at certain police stations in the outskirts and rural areas following the attack on the Ulu Tiram police station on May 17.

“Such police stations have two personnel on duty at night, with one tasked at the security post and another at the police report counter.

“In general, the deployment of two personnel is at police stations located in the outskirts,” he said when contacted on Tuesday (July 9).

The IGP said closing the front gates of police stations does not mean they are not operational.

“It will still function normally with service delivery to the public as a priority,” he said.

The SOP for the directive will be presented by Bukit Aman management director Comm Datuk Seri Azmi Abu Kassim before it is implemented in stages at police stations, especially those in the outskirts and rural areas.

“As stated by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, we must have a balance between the role of the police stations where the people come to lodge reports while at the same time, the police stations are targets of security threats,” he said.

Razarudin said lodging police reports at police stations will operate as normal.

“The public can park their vehicles at areas near police stations after 10pm, as long as it does not disrupt traffic.

“As per normal procedures, police personnel will record the purpose of entering the police station before anyone is allowed to enter,” he said.

However, the Home Ministry, in a statement in the Tuesday evening, clarified that the public can still enter police stations to make reports at any time.

It added that the “gate closure” directive applies more to police stations that are “at risk”, without naming any specific locations.