PHNOM PENH: In the era of advanced technology, many people have been affected by online scams, especially in rural areas. Local residents have lodged complaints with the authorities, but the official response has seemed limited.
National Police Commissioner General Sar Thet said that most of the complaints related to tech fraud occurred in Phnom Penh, Mondulkiri, Ratanakkiri and Siem Reap. He then said that authorities must strengthen their tech knowledge to restore the trust of the people and address tech-based crime.
General Sar Thet made the remarks while presiding over a meeting to disseminate information on key indicators and measures on the digital economic and social policy framework for 2021-2035, along with financial technology development 2023-2028 on the afternoon of January 2, 2024.
The commissioner admitted that the ability of the authorities to prevent and help victims of technological crimes is still limited. Seeing this problem, he gave a presentation on the management and research on technological crimes for relevant authorities to help victims.
"In order for us to understand the management, prevention and investigation of this crime, we need to have an understanding of technology to facilitate communication with specialized departments to help each other,” he said. “We have to acknowledge that our officers have not been trained on these issues, so there are a lot of problems."
General Sar Thet added that once police officers are trained and competent enough to prevent and crack down on cybercrime, they will be able to educate the public on how to avoid it. He said that when the authorities control tech crimes, it will be possible to successfully crack down on other forms of crime involved.
For the sake of efficiency, the Commission established a governmental working group for Digital, Information and Communication Technology with Lt. Gen. Chea Pov, Deputy Commissioner of the National Police, as its chairman. The working group will be responsible for organizing, implementing and disseminating related digital work at the national and international level, developing strategies, monitoring and updating work, and will be in charge of the digital management work of the General Commission of the National Police.
