Ho Chi Minh City authorities must regularly rotate civil servants working in sensitive posts, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

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The Deputy PM made the request on October 6 during a meeting with the municipal People’s Committee to review performance in the fight against crime, social evils, smuggling, fraud and counterfeit goods during the first nine months of this year, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

During the period, 4,668 criminal cases were recorded in the city, 10 more than last year, said Major General Phan Anh Minh, Deputy Director of the city’s Department of Public Security.

Compared to the same period last year, fraud cases increased by 22.35 percent to 301 cases, including those involved by foreigners, while the number of serious cases, such as murder, robbery and rape fell considerably, the official said. At the meeting, an official from HCM City’s Market Surveillance Agency said goods were being trafficked into the city via official and unofficial channels.

Particularly, the smuggling of cigarettes along the National Highway 22 and interprovincial roads No 2 and 15 escalated due to the steep price differences between the city and Cambodia, the official said.

Meanwhile, counterfeit goods and violations of property rights have yet to be driven back.

The crime solve rate was only 64.4 percent, falling short of the 70 percent target, Deputy PM Phuc said. He attributed this to the sheer size of the city’s market and the inactiveness and lack of determination of local authorities.

Phuc requested that the city, in addition to supervising officials, must conduct crackdowns, focusing on environmental and organized crimes.

He added that the city authorities should encourage its citizens to engage in crime prevention and optimize the effectiveness of officials’ efforts.