Mixed views on police policy to shoot on sight<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The police practice of shooting on sight is
\nviewed in different lights by a member of the National Commission
\non Human Rights, a lawyer and a criminologist.<\/p>\n
Deputy Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights,
\nMarzuki Darusman, says the shoot on sight policy does not violate
\nhuman rights.<\/p>\n
\"The criminals violated other people's right to safety,\"
\nMarzuki said in an interview.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said the policy was only applied if police believed
\nthe alleged criminals were endangering other people's, or their
\nown, lives.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Jakarta's Legal Aid Institute's director Luhut MP.
\nPangaribuan and a criminologist from the University of Indonesia,
\nAdrianus Meliala, said the rising crime rate should not be used
\nto justify the gunning down of alleged criminals.<\/p>\n
Adrianus said the police were there to guard public safety.<\/p>\n
\"Shooting criminals dead is the military way. Police action is
\nto overwhelm criminals, not to kill them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile police have openly defended the shootings.<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo once said that he
\npreferred to have criminals shot than his officers.<\/p>\n
National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Nurfaizi said the police
\nfollowed shooting procedure as determined at the 8th Congress of
\nthe United Nations, in Havana, Cuba, in 1990. It said that police
\nwere allowed to shoot criminals if they were endangering lives.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't shoot every criminal, did we?. All the shootings
\nwere carried out according to procedure,\" Nurfaizi said.<\/p>\n
Nurfaizi said all the people shot dead were criminals who had
\ntried to resist arrest, and had ignored warning shots.<\/p>\n
But Marzuki said, \"the police must have clear procedures,
\nexplaining under what circumstance officers in the field are
\nallowed to shoot. The procedures should also rule that only
\nsenior officers are allowed to make the final decision to shoot.\"<\/p>\n
Lawyer Luhut Pangaribuan said the shoot on sight policy would
\nnot solve crimes or stop people from committing them. \"Crime
\nshould be tackled professionally and systematically,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He and Marzuki agreed that the policy was a temporary step, a
\nform of shock therapy to deter other criminals.<\/p>\n
\"It's just a short cut that will not solve the problem,\" Luhut
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Criminologist Adrianus said shooting alleged criminals would
\nonly make them more violent. \"They might think violence should be
\nmet with violence,\" Adrianus said.<\/p>\n
Marzuki, Luhut and Adrianus said they believed the shoot on
\nsight policy would not lower the crime rate.<\/p>\n
At least 32 people, all allegedly criminals, have been shot
\ndead by Jakarta police since January. Last year, the police shot
\ndead 46 people in the capital for the same reason.<\/p>\n
Many people speculate that the recent shootings of alleged
\ncriminals is a \"rerun\" of the mysterious shootings, known as
\npetrus, in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n
Between 1982 and 1984, hundreds of criminals were found dead
\nin the city. Their bodies were dumped in the streets, in swamps
\nand other public places.<\/p>\n
The shootings drew a strong reaction from international human
\nrights activists at the time.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said criminals should not be hunted by officers.
\nOfficers must do their jobs according to clear standard
\nprocedures or they may shoot the wrong person.<\/p>\n
If the families of someone shot by police believed their
\nrelative was innocent they might sue, Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
He cited the case of Sofjan Sani, who was shot dead by other
\nofficers on April 1, in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata said after the
\nshooting that Sofjan was a civilian impersonating a police
\nofficer. He later admitted Sofjan was a police officer but said
\nhe had been caught extorting money from drivers.<\/p>\n
Sofjan's parents plan to sue the police and complain to the
\nrights commission.<\/p>\n
Luhut said the government should set up a fact finding team to
\nfind out if the police involved in the fatal shootings had done
\ntheir job properly. \"The team should include commission members
\nand independents,\" Luhut said.<\/p>\n
He said rumors had it that police told criminals to run away,
\nthen shot them.<\/p>\n
\"But it's difficult to prove,\" he said. (jun\/cst)<\/p>\n
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