Simple Spatial Analysis of Narcotics-Related Offenses in Malaysia

Abstract

Narcotics abuse crimes are just one among several types of dangerous crimes occurring in Malaysia, alongside sexual crimes, and commercial crimes. Despite an 11% decrease in the frequency of narcotics abuse crime cases and arrests from 2020 to 2021, the numbers still reached an alarming six-figure level. Using the dataset for narcotics abuse crimes, which includes distribution, possession and positive urine cases and arrests in 2022, descriptive, statistical and spatial analyses are presented. The analysis revealed that Malay male perpetrators aged between 20 and 60 dominate the number of arrests compared to other genders and races. It is also found that there is a significant difference in the age of the offenders based on genders and races. Besides that, it was found that the frequencies of cases and arrests for all offenses are correlated with the size of the population. The crime rate index based on the frequency of crimes, types of crimes and the current population is developed and presented as heatmaps. The heatmaps suggest that the top state with the highest crime rate index for distribution, possession, and positive urine offenses are Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang, and Terengganu respectively. The heatmaps serve as indicators in identifying which state has the highest crime rate index for narcotics abuse crimes in Malaysia in 2022.