By Rachael Kam

KUALA LUMPUR: More CCTVs have been installed at 12 hotspots with the highest number of street crimes recorded in the country.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Datuk Chor Chee Heung said the Government is spending RM36mil this year under the Safe City Programme.

"So far, we have installed 496 CCTVs at 25 local authorities, including the 12 hotspots," he told reporters after launching the Safe City handbook here yesterday.

He said the ministry's Urban and Rural Planning Department had reactivated the Safe City Programme due to the rise in street crime in major cities.

The 12 hotspots are Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Ampang, Klang, Selayang, Johor Baru, Johor Baru Tengah, Pasir Gudang, Penang and Seberang Prai.

Other initiatives under the Safe City Programme included ensuring high crime areas are well-lit, having separate pedestrian walkways, installing safety alarms with panic buttons as well as safety mirrors and establishing a geographic information mapping system for crime.

Currently, 39 local authorities in the peninsula are involved in the programme and it would be expanded to 149 local authorities nationwide, including Sabah and Sarawak, by the end of the year.