C. Java police behind in crime fighting<\/p>\n
By K. Basrie<\/p>\n
Are the police losing the battle against crime in Central
\nJava? Maybe not, but local police chiefs admit that they are
\nfalling behind through a combination of shortages of personnel,
\nlack of professionalism and drive among their officers at a time
\nwhen the crime rate, from the most petty like traffic violations
\nto the more sophisticated modus operandi, is on the rise in one
\nof Indonesia's most densely populated provinces. A reporter from
\nThe Jakarta Post was recently invited by the National Police to
\ntour the province and talk to some of the local police chiefs.
\nThis is his report.<\/p>\n
SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): For the first 10 months of this
\nyear, the Central Java Police have managed to solve 57 percent of
\nthe more than 10,000 crimes reported.<\/p>\n
This is hardly a performance they can be proud of. In fact,
\ncompared to last year, police are falling behind in their work.
\nIn 1993, they had a better record, solving 70 percent of the
\n16,207 cases that reached their desks.<\/p>\n
Central Java Police Chief Maj. Gen. Harimas AS Hasbullah will
\nbe the first to admit that this isn't good enough.<\/p>\n
\"We're not satisfied with the record, especially given that
\nmost of them are what we call conventional or traditional
\ncrimes,\" said Harimas, whose jurisdiction covers Central Java and
\nthe special administrative territory of Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
However, Harimas was just as quick to warn against
\ngeneralizing the trend, pointing out that in some areas police
\nhave managed to improve their performance and services.<\/p>\n
Interviews with other senior police officers in Central Java
\nfurther revealed some of the problems they face at the local
\nlevel. Most pointed to a problem of attitude among their
\nofficers, that is, lack of personal drive to become truly
\nprofessional in their job.<\/p>\n
There are other classic, yet valid, reasons cited such as
\nbudgetary constraints, shortages in personnel and equipment.<\/p>\n
Then there is the problem of increasing sophistication in
\ncrimes, particularly the new method of hit-and-run, in which a
\ngang of robbers move from one area to another, from one province
\nto another, making detection difficult.<\/p>\n
Outside of traffic violations, robbery with violence tops the
\nlist of crimes in Central Java, followed by vehicle theft, arson,
\ninjury, murder, drug-related offenses and counterfeiting of local
\nand foreign currencies.<\/p>\n
The more traditional crimes are relatively small in number but
\nthey still have to be dealt with. They include thefts of precious
\nteak wood from the forests and cattle rustling.<\/p>\n
According to police records the cities most prone to crime are
\nSemarang, Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Kudus, in that order.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Adang Rismanto, head of the Semarang Police Chief,
\nadmits that of all the problems facing the police, the biggest
\none is the attitude of officers.<\/p>\n
\"It is my personnel's lack of desire to become professional
\nofficers that has caused many criminal cases to remain
\nunresolved,\" Adang said, who was launched into fame when as head
\nof the South Jakarta police precinct he solved the murder of
\nnoted painter Basuki Abdullah in 1993.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Andi Masmijat, head of the precinct in Kudus, a small
\ntown in Pati famous as a home base for many Kretek cigarette
\nproducers, said the timeworn problem of lack of personnel could
\nbe compensated if the existing officers would only take the
\ntrouble to upgrade their capability.<\/p>\n
Trouble is, Andi said, \"Many of my officers have no intention
\nof going further to develop their own capabilities.\"<\/p>\n
To compensate for this, Andi said, he has resorted to
\norganizing civilian groups, under the supervision of his office,
\nto beef up the police force in maintaining security and order.<\/p>\n
Local police also know better than to complain about limited
\nequipment because they realize this is a problem nationwide and
\nis not exclusively their domain.<\/p>\n
Central Java Police have also been confronted with new, more
\nsophisticated crimes, which will probably require coordination
\nwith other provinces to tackle.<\/p>\n
Take the case of \"hit-and-run\" gangs of robbers that have been
\noperating in the province.<\/p>\n
They are usually armed with sharp weapons and travel in a
\nKijang van, according to Col. Totok Soediarto, head of the
\nCentral Java Crime Investigation Directorate.<\/p>\n
\"The robbers kick off their operations in Medan, move down to
\nLampung in Sumatra and across to Jakarta before heading to towns
\nand villages in the other part of Java,\" Totok said. Usually, to
\nelude police detection, it is one operation in one city.<\/p>\n
Money counterfeiting is also a problem, with some cities in
\nCentral Java running a profitable industry being part of a larger
\nnationwide syndicate.<\/p>\n
Kudus, for example, is noted for its experts in \"painting\"
\nblank security paper into fake banknotes.<\/p>\n
\"They get an order from Surabaya and Jakarta to make forged
\nrupiahs and American dollars,\" Lt. Col Andi said, whose office
\nrecently busted part of the syndicate which was counterfeiting Rp
\n20,000 bank notes.<\/p>\n
In March 1993, Semarang police also uncovered a syndicate
\ncounterfeiting Rp 20,000 and US$100 banknotes. Police seized
\ncounterfeits worth Rp 4.2 billion ($2 million).<\/p>\n
Local police chiefs also said that most crimes in their
\nprecincts were committed by people coming from outside of their
\narea.<\/p>\n
\"The local people would have to think many times before
\ncommitting crimes in their own area because, if they're caught,
\nthey will be branded as criminals for life and this will put
\nshame on their families,\" Col. Tata Sutama said, head of the Pati
\nregional police.<\/p>\n
As well as fighting crime, police also have to cope with the
\nincreasingly difficult traffic problem, not an easy feat given
\nthat the narrow Central Java highways are used by cars traveling
\nbetween Jakarta and West Java on the one hand and East Java and
\nBali on the other. (see accompanying box story)<\/p>\n
While their bosses complained about the lack of personal drive
\nof officers, the lower ranked police officers privately
\ncomplained about the increasingly large work load and that there
\nwas hardly time for them to contemplate their future.<\/p>\n
\"We've tried our best to improve our services but still we're
\ngetting more complaints than appreciation,\" an officer in Demak
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"It's nonsense to talk about enhancing our capability when
\nevery day we're overwhelmed with work,\" a sergeant in a small
\nprecinct in Pati said.<\/p>",
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