GEORGE TOWN: The killing of a police corporal in Kedah, who was deliberately run down by four burglars, is a national tragedy that requires a decisive response, said a senior criminologist.

Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy said the act was an assault on the rule of law and the social compact. Policemen, he said, put themselves between danger and the public so others can live safely, and that commitment deserves absolute protection.

“Behind every uniform is a person with a family, colleagues and a community. When an officer is killed, it is the whole nation that suffers grief and diminished safety. This incident is a worrying indicator of escalation.

“When criminals are prepared to use lethal force against law enforcement to avoid arrest, the calculation that once made hazardous conduct ‘too risky’ for offenders shifts dangerously. The result is chilling: deterrence weakens, police morale falls, recruitment and retention worsen and public order becomes harder to maintain,” he said.

He added that society must make it plain that violence against law enforcement is intolerable and that laws, policing practices and public attitudes must reflect a zero-tolerance principle.

The policeman, Corporal Mohd Hafizul Izham Mazlan, 35, died at the scene yesterday after he was hit by a vehicle driven by one of the suspects.

The suspects were attempting to steal a metal safe from a house in Taman Golf, Alor Star, Kedah, when the incident occurred.

From a criminological standpoint, Sundramoorthy said such an act might be understood through the lens of offender rational choice theory.

He said that in moments of confrontation, offenders weigh perceived risks against rewards. The willingness of the burglars to deliberately ram into a policeman suggests either an extreme underestimation of legal consequences, a belief that escape outweighed all risks, or a sense of emboldenment possibly shaped by prior impunity.

These factors, he said, are exacerbated when offenders operate in groups, as collective dynamics can lower individual inhibitions and encourage more aggressive behaviour.

“Situational crime prevention theory also sheds light on the importance of reducing opportunities for such violent acts. High-risk enforcement operations such as intercepting burglary suspects in vehicles require not only strategic deployment and backup but also environmental design considerations, such as roadblocks with containment, spike strips or armoured support vehicles, which can mitigate offenders’ ability to use vehicles as weapons. International experience shows that the tactical environment can significantly influence offender decisions in the heat of the moment,” he added.

Sundramoorthy said other civil democracies offer clear lessons. He said that in the United Kingdom, the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 makes it a specific crime to assault an emergency worker, with courts instructed to treat such attacks as aggravated and punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment in serious cases.

In the United States, federal law criminalises assaulting or killing a federal officer, with penalties that escalate sharply when bodily harm or weapons are involved. Canada’s Criminal Code expressly criminalises assaulting a peace officer in the line of duty, with maximum penalties of up to ten years for offences causing bodily harm or involving weapons.

Australia’s states also take a tough stance. In New South Wales, provisions under the Crimes Act impose significant maximum penalties for assaulting police, especially where aggravating factors apply.

This article first appeared on NST.