The British Administration and the prevention of crimes in the Straits Settlements

This study recapitulates the history of criminal activities in the British Malaya’s Straits Settlements (Penang, Melaka and Singapore) and examines some of the major factors that lead to crimes and the measures taken by the British colonial administration to overcome the problem. It was discovered that the early history of the Straits Settlements saw grave weakness in the security of the settlements. The police force alone was not enough to ensure the security of the Settlements. One of the main factors that led to the security problems in the Straits of Settlements was the presence of foreign immigrants spurred by British no-restriction immigration policy. The rise of crimes in the Straits Settlements was also a direct result of the British policy of bringing in prisoners from India to serve their punishments in the Straits Settlements that functioned as penal stations. The colonial administration’s ways of managing crimes in the Straits settlements were much on an ad hoc basis and without proper rules of law.