SHAH ALAM, Aug 20 — Approximately 1,185 juvenile cases were recorded nationwide up to June this year under the Child Act 2001, with Selangor registering the highest number at 892 cases.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the figure formed part of 5,633 juvenile cases reported over the past two years, comprising 2,006 cases in 2023 and 2,442 cases last year.
“Besides Selangor, Johor recorded 731 cases, followed by Perak (506), Sabah (474), Sarawak (460), Kedah (433), Kelantan (347), Pahang (331), the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory (315), Penang (294), Negeri Sembilan (241), Melaka (218), and Perlis (116),” he said in a written reply published on Parliament's website.
Saifuddin was responding to Wangsa Maju MP Zahir Hassan's query on the latest number of juvenile crime cases under the Child Act 2001, including a breakdown of offenders’ ages, time of incidents, and locations.
He added that teenagers aged 16 to 18 formed the largest group of offenders with 3,637 cases, while children between seven and 10 years old accounted for the lowest number at just 21 cases.
Concerning this, the police had implemented several preventive measures to control underage youths from loitering unsupervised, particularly at night.
"Among the steps taken are public awareness programmes, including talks, seminars, and exhibitions, to educate parents on their responsibilities in looking after minors.
“High-risk areas that often attract unsupervised teenagers are also continuously monitored, alongside crime prevention activities by the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department (JPJKK) through Mobile Patrol Vehicle (MPV) patrols, the Motorcycle Patrol Unit (URB), as well as the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP) campaign,” Saifuddin said.
