Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers alleged yesterday that the nation's top police agency is manipulating crime statistics to create the illusion of improved public safety at the behest of Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Opposition lawmakers leveled the allegations at National Police Agency (NPA) Director Hou Yu-yi (侯友宜) yesterday at a conference on crime, even as Hou announced a breakthrough in the case of a brazen robbery in Taipei last week.
A lone robber mowed down two security guards in a hail of gunfire last Friday, killing one and injuring the other as they were transporting NT$16 million (US$483,000) to Taiwan Cooperative Bank's outlet on Zhongshan N Road.
Hou said yesterday that a bag used to transport some of the money had been recovered just hours before the conference on the side of a road in Sinjhuang (
"This clue could definitely lead to our cracking the case," Hou said, adding, "If we don't crack this case, it'll haunt us."
Hou would report to the family of the deceased in person once police arrest the gunman, he said.
While the case underscores problems in security companies' operations, it's also an example of the worsening gun problem nationwide, said KMT Legislator Diane Lee (
Armored cars belonging to the company have been robbed more than 10 times in recent years, with the latest case before Friday occurring on Jan. 2, when one of the company's guards drugged his partner and made off with NT$56 million.
Hou said that security companies' satellite tracking systems are flawed, while their employees are often poorly vetted, but that his agency had solved recent cases.
"The thing that worries me most is that criminals these days tend to use more powerful guns -- with armor-piercing rounds," he added.
The guards were wearing bullet-proof vests.
Despite such trends, public safety is improving as the number of criminal cases drops and the figure for solved cases rises, Hou insisted.
In the first three months of this year, for example, police nationwide, on average, solved 75 percent of all reported criminal cases, National Police Agency statistics show.
Lawmakers, however, were unimpressed.
"I can't blame you for touting such figures, even as the perception of public safety is at its worst," KMT Legislator Pai Tien-chih (
She alleged that police had "doctored" the figures, a comment that evoked nods from her pan-blue colleagues.
"After all, the premier made a promise to the public to crack down on crime, and as the presidential election approaches you have little choice but to make him feel safe in his job, right?" Pai said.
"Legislator, we operate according to the law, and elections don't figure into how we enforce law and order," Hou replied.
"We do our jobs no matter who is in power," he added.
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