For more than a year now, a majority of Malaysians have been locked up at home due to the various lockdowns.

While things like electricity bill and mental health issues have gone up, there are also certain things that have gone down, like the number of break-in cases, apparently.

A decrease in break-in cases

The number of house break-in cases has seen a reduction during the movement control order (MCO) period, The Star Online reported.

Bukit Aman CID director Comm Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan told the news portal that the police recorded a total of 16,452 cases between 18 March and 27 June this year.

During the same period in 2020, the total number of break-in cases stood at 20,875, which was a 21.2 per cent decrease for this year.

According to Comm Abd Jalil, the decrease in break-in cases could be attributed to the MCO that was imposed during the period, which saw more patrols conducted by the police.

"However, during the conditional MCO from May to June 10 last year, a total of 1,167 house break-ins were recorded compared with 1,063 cases prior to the conditional MCO," he was quoted as saying in a statement cited by The Star Online.

Comm Abd Jalil added that between 18 March 2020 and 27 June 2021, the police detained a total of 5,518 individuals for breaking into houses.

Out of the number, 3,572 of them were jobless.

Comm Abd Jalil has reminded Malaysians to stay vigilant and lock their homes properly.

Or you could just stay at home and greet would-be burglars with a parang to the face if they decide to come in uninvited.