Street vigilantism continues<\/p>\n
Emmy Fitri , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Over the past few years it has become common to hear about
\nviolence committed by mobs, who beat to death the perpetrators of
\npetty crimes if they get caught red-handed.<\/p>\n
And the vigilante justice is still continuing until now.<\/p>\n
Only on Friday a man was burned to death in Ciwaru village,
\nBogor, by local residents who accused him of having an illicit
\naffair with a married woman. The punishment was far beyond one he
\nwould get in a courtroom if the woman's husband reported the case
\nto the police. According to article 284 of the Criminal Code,
\nanyone who is found guilty of adultery can be punished by a
\nmaximum sentence of nine months in jail.<\/p>\n
In Tangerang, residents of Cikoto village who were probably at
\nthe end of their tethers by the action of thieves in their
\nneighborhood, took the law into their hands when they managed to
\nnab two motorcycle thieves, Yadi and Sugiman. The ill-fated
\ncrooks were mobbed to death on Sept. 3 last year.<\/p>\n
Many analyses has been made on the violence, which is also
\nknown as street justice. One of the major causes is that the
\npeople no longer respect and believe in law enforcement and the
\nlaw enforcers.<\/p>\n
The causes are known..., but such violence keeps being
\nrepeated.<\/p>\n
Criminologist Harkristuti Harkrisnowo from the University of
\nIndonesia explained that mass justice became widely practiced
\nafter the downfall of former president Soeharto in 1998. During
\nthe Soeharto era, police and military provided strong shields for
\nthe country's security and order.<\/p>\n
\"Both the police and military were very respectable and at the
\nsame time were very powerful. People were really reluctant to
\ndeal with these institutions, let alone break the law,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"The vigilante justice reached its peak between 1998 and 2000.
\nI read so many stories of such violence in the media during that
\nperiod,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The police and other law enforcers really doing their jobs and
\napplying the law properly is one thing that may help to boost the
\npeople's trust on these institutions.<\/p>\n
Another thing that could be taken into account is to punish
\nthose who take the law into their own hands.<\/p>\n
The perpetrators of street vigilantism could be charged with
\nviolating Article 170 of the Criminal Code on mass violence.<\/p>\n
\"But I can understand if the police fail to catch all the
\nperpetrators of such violence. Not only is it done by too many
\npeople but also because people are usually unwilling to testify
\nagainst the others because they themselves also committed the
\ncrimes,\" Harkristuti remarked.<\/p>\n
Kompas reported on Sept. 25, 2001 that nationwide such
\nincidents of street vigilantism had reached to 216 cases with 99
\npeople killed in 2000. The actual number could be double that as
\nmany cases go undetected.<\/p>\n
Harkristuti, director of the criminal law department at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, argued that the educational background
\nof the violence was not one of factors that motivated people to
\ntake the law into their hands.<\/p>\n
Many of street vigilantes were reported in remote areas but
\nHarkristuti argued that, \"In Jakarta where there are many
\neducated people, such practices are also found, but it is more
\ndifficult to handle because passersby will join the violence orgy
\nif they happen to come across it.\"<\/p>\n
\"It is also the task of the mass media to make it known that
\nit is also a crime to punish people like that,\" Harkristuti
\nremarked.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/street-vigilantism-continues-1447893297",
"image": ""
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