On the evening of January 3, Ho Chi Minh City Police held a press conference to announce the situation and results of ensuring social order and safety in 2023 and some key tasks in 2024.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Hung - Head of the Criminal Police Department (PC02), Ho Chi Minh City Police emphasized that at the end of the year, which is commonly known as the Cu Mat month, the situation of property crimes, especially theft, robbery, snatching and fraud, has become more complicated. Therefore, the Board of Directors of Ho Chi Minh City Police has directed PC02 to take the lead and implement many preventive and combat measures.

Ho Chi Minh City Police have established 10 363 task forces, arranged patrols and controls throughout the areas, in coordination with Thu Duc City Police and districts to combat these types of crimes and aim to "hit hard and hit accurately" the places where assets are consumed in order to "cut demand and reduce supply".

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Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Hung - Head of the Criminal Police Department (PC02), Ho Chi Minh City Police Department answered at the press conference. Photo: Linh An

"The Criminal Police Department will coordinate with all levels of government and the political system to maximize prevention and bring peace to people during the spring and Tet holiday," Lieutenant Colonel Hung affirmed.

Recalling the incident in which a group of people used guns to rob nearly 3.8 billion VND at Sacombank in Hoc Mon district, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Hung said that the City Police Department has directed professional units, district police, and Thu Duc City to invite all representatives of banks with headquarters in the area to come to a meeting to discuss and come up with solutions to prevent and combat the crime.

Ho Chi Minh City Police have proposed a solution, proposing personal identification when making transactions. This idea was agreed by bank representatives and they said that it would be implemented as soon as possible. Specifically, banks will install cameras to recognize the faces of individuals coming to make transactions. When people arrive, the bank will require them to take off their masks, hats, coats, etc.

In addition, the police also develop comprehensive professional measures to prevent, stop, and combat bank robbery crimes.

Regarding cybercrime, recently, the Ministry of Public Security, Ho Chi Minh City Police and other provinces and cities have continuously issued warnings and identified tricks so that people can know and understand them and avoid them.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Hung warned: “There is no such thing as an investigative agency working over the phone and asking people to transfer money. The nature of fraud is to take advantage of the online space, so people need to be very careful and not to transact with any phone number or stranger who contacts them and asks for personal information or account numbers.”

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thang Long - representative of the General Staff Department, Ho Chi Minh City Police informed that in 2023, Ho Chi Minh City Police discovered 607 cases of robbery and snatching (reaching 78.6%), arresting 925 subjects. Of which, there were 107 cases of robbery, with 224 subjects; there were 500 cases of snatching, with 701 subjects.

The representative of the City Police also informed about the results of the peak campaign to attack and suppress crimes to ensure security and order for the Lunar New Year 2024 from December 15, 2023 to present.

Specifically, 247 social order incidents were recorded, down 65 cases compared to the previous year (equivalent to 20.83%); 225 subjects were arrested; 17 gangs and 132 subjects were fought and eliminated.

In particular, the City Police dismantled 12 gangs and 28 individuals involved in "black credit" activities, using weapons and many despicable tricks to force borrowers to pay their debts...