The Indonesian National Police are strengthening prevention,\nhandling, and law enforcement efforts against forest and land fires amid\nthe prolonged dry season and the El Ni\u00f1o phenomenon. The measures\ninclude enhanced mitigation from the pre-disaster stage, readiness of\npersonnel and infrastructure, and firm action against those proven to\nhave carried out burning.<\/p>\n
Head of the Public Information Bureau of the Police Public Relations\nDivision, Brigadier General Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko, said that handling\nforest and land fires does not only focus on extinguishing and law\nenforcement, but also on building public awareness to prevent fires from\nan early stage. \u201cWhat we hope with our media colleagues is that we can\nprovide awareness, knowledge, and understanding to the public about an\napproach of building awareness and action to protect the environment,\u201d\nTrunoyudo said at a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday.<\/p>\n
According to him, the Police together with various stakeholders have\ntaken anticipatory steps based on the direction of President Prabowo\nSubianto in a limited meeting on 28 July 2026 regarding the El Ni\u00f1o\nphenomenon, extreme weather, and the threat of forest and land fires.\nThe Police are strengthening mitigation through updated mapping of\nfire-prone areas, field verification of hotspots, strengthening of early\nwarning systems, and integrated patrols with the military, Manggala\nAgni, regional governments, and the public. Hundreds of readiness\nassemblies and prevention socialisation activities have also been\ncarried out in various regions.<\/p>\n
Trunoyudo stressed that the public needs to increase vigilance\nagainst activities that could potentially trigger fires, including land\nclearing by burning and waste burning. \u201cWhat we are conveying is not\nmerely forest and land fire mitigation and law enforcement on\nenvironmental issues, but also awareness of public safety and, of\ncourse, protection of the environment as a sustainability and welfare\nfor the life of the Indonesian nation,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Head of Operations Bureau of the Police Operations Staff,\nBrigadier General Auliansyah Lubis, said the Police have made\npreparations to face the potential of forest and land fires well before\nentering the peak of the dry season. The preparations were carried out\nthrough cross-ministerial and institutional coordination as well as\npersonnel readiness down to the regional level. \u201cThe Police have also\ncarried out preparatory activities in all regions. So all work units,\nall regional police down to the resort police level have made\npreparations,\u201d Auliansyah said.<\/p>\n
According to Auliansyah, the readiness includes personnel assemblies,\nchecking of infrastructure, land and air patrols using helicopters and\ndrones, socialisation of the burning ban, mapping of vulnerable points,\nand construction of wetting infrastructure such as retention basins,\ncanal blocks, and boreholes. In response to hotspots, the Police apply\nan early detection mechanism through satellites and public reports which\nare then verified directly in the field. If a fire point is found,\npersonnel together with relevant stakeholders immediately carry out\nextinguishing and cooling before proceeding with an investigation if a\ncriminal offence is suspected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn response to fire point threats, the Police apply a rapid response\nSOP with a target of one to two hours since the satellite detects a\nhotspot,\u201d Auliansyah explained. He added that the Police have also\nprepared personnel strength and various supporting facilities to handle\nforest and land fires, including portable water pumps, tactical vehicles\nfor forest and land fire facilities, fire suppression drones, and\nhelicopters that can be used for water bombing.<\/p>\n
From the law enforcement side, Director of Certain Crimes at the\nPolice Criminal Investigation Agency, Brigadier General Mohammad\nIrhamni, said that from 1 January to 21 August 2026, the Police have\nissued 89 police reports related to suspected forest and land fire\ncriminal offences in nine regional police jurisdictions, namely Riau,\nWest Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Jambi, Central Kalimantan, South\nKalimantan, East Kalimantan, Aceh, and North Kalimantan. From the\nhandling of these cases, the Police have named 72 individual suspects\nwith the total burned area in the handled cases reaching 1,006.67\nhectares.<\/p>\n
Irhamni explained that most of the handled cases began with hotspot\nmonitoring which was then verified by officers in the field. If a fire\npoint or burned land is found, officers first carry out extinguishing\nand cooling to ensure personnel safety. After conditions are declared\nsafe, investigators process the crime scene and collect evidence to\ndetermine whether criminal elements exist.<\/p>\n
According to him, the methods found in a number of these cases were\ndominated by land clearing by deliberately burning. This method was\nchosen because it is considered cheaper and more economical compared to\nusing other land clearing methods. \u201cMost of the modus operandi used by\nthe suspects is clearing land by deliberately burning so that the\noperational costs of farming activities become cheap or economical,\u201d\nIrhamni said.<\/p>\n
In practice, land that has previously been cut down is then burned to\nclear remaining vegetation. Besides being cheaper, burning is also\nconsidered to provide benefits for the perpetrators because the ash from\nthe burning can be used as an element that fertilises the soil before\nthe land is used for plantation activities.<\/p>\n
Irhamni stressed that economic reasons cannot justify burning,\nespecially in conditions of prolonged drought and El Ni\u00f1o which make\nfires spread more easily and difficult to control. \u201cWhatever the reason,\neconomic reasons, ease, and so on, please do not carry out burning at\ntimes like this,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n
In the investigation process, the Police have also seized various\npieces of evidence that strengthen the suspicion of deliberate burning\nactivities. The evidence includes 35 lighters, a number of bottles and\njerry cans containing fuel, 21 machetes, two axes, hoes, and two other\nitems.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-name-72-suspects-in-forest-and-land-fires-reveal-their-methods-1787482264", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }