No-warrant raids disguised extortion, robbery<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A group of bogus police detectives are raiding unwary Jakartans'
\nhomes and searching them on the street, in a spate of extortions
\nand robberies, police say.<\/p>\n
On Jan. 4, a passenger on a public minivan was forced to take
\nout his wallet and show it to three men who said they were
\ndetectives. The three accused him of being a suspect they were
\nlooking for and then took all his money.<\/p>\n
Last week, two separate raids took place by a group of men in
\nhouses where residents were gathering to play cards. In both
\ncases, the men, who also claimed to be detectives, asked for
\nmoney from the card players as a payoff for letting them off
\ngambling charges.<\/p>\n
The victims made complaints to the police, who claimed the
\nculprits were not members of the force.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo warned the public
\nto be watchful of criminals, who often pretended to be police
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
Not all residents were aware police should be able to produce
\nsearch warrants and identification when they searched houses, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Don't hesitate to ask them show their police IDs to decide
\nwhether they are real policemen or bogus ones,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, a lack of awareness was not necessarily the reason
\nthe public did not ask for search warrants, according to Chandra
\nSugarda, program director of RCTI's crime program Sergap. Not
\nall police raids took place with warrants, she said.<\/p>\n
\"There are two kind of police officers: those who get search
\nwarrants before raids and those who get warrants after,\" she told
\nThe Jakarta Post on Monday. \"It depends on how disciplined the
\nofficers are.\"<\/p>\n
She said she was preparing a list of tips for the program to
\nraise public awareness on the matter.<\/p>\n
\"We will introduce the tips in our next programs,\" she said.<\/p>\n
However, Satrio, a resident of Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta,
\nsaid while he was well aware of the need for warrants, he would
\nnot question police who searched his car.<\/p>\n
\"I know police have to carry warrants, but you know, sometimes
\nthey just force you to let them search your car,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Should that happen to me, I would comply. What else can I
\ndo?\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-warrant-raids-disguised-extortion-robbery-1447893297",
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