The streets of Jakarta<\/p>\n
What do people really think of the streets of Jakarta? An odd
\nquestion, perhaps. But opinions on this matter seem to depend on
\nwhere one stands: Those who have been victims of street crimes
\nsay they're horrible. But the authorities on the other hand claim
\nthat the streets in this teeming city are relatively safe,
\ncompared, that is, to those in many other big cities in the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
To underscore the victims' view we might, for example, recall
\nthe series of street crimes that have taken place quite recently
\nin various parts of the city: On Thursday a housewife was shot in
\nthe stomach by one of four unidentified men who tried to rob her
\nof her motorcycle in West Jakarta. The robbers escaped -- without
\nthe motorcycle.<\/p>\n
Earlier, a student of a private university told his friends
\nthat four unknown men armed with axes had robbed him of his
\ncellular phone while the Kijang van he was driving got caught in
\na traffic jam in South Jakarta. He never reported the case to the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Late in January, the wife of the secretary general of the
\nMinistry of Finance was stabbed and killed when she tried to hold
\non to her handbag in an armed street robbery right in front of
\nher residence in East Jakarta. The police, for a change, arrested
\nthe suspects only hours after the tragic incident occurred.<\/p>\n
Those examples would seem to underline the citizens' claim
\nthat \"there is no safe place in Jakarta\". Police do seem to be
\nmaking efforts to respond to the people's outcry, but they have
\nyet to curb the street crimes, which reportedly have been growing
\nin frequency, among other things due to the increase in
\nunemployment.<\/p>\n
The fact that the ratio between the number of police officers
\nin Jakarta and the city's population -- which is one policeman
\nfor every 600 citizens -- is the classic, and reasonable, excuse
\nfor the police to explain their failure to deal with crimes
\npromptly and properly. Jakarta now has only 2,300 police officers
\nwho are deployed on the streets and in other public places every
\nday. The nationwide ratio, it can be said in passing, is even
\nworse -- 1:861, which means that one police officer has to serve
\n861 people. The ideal ratio, according to United Nations
\nestimates, is 1:300.<\/p>\n
How indeed could 2,300 policemen cover all of Jakarta's five
\nmayoralties with their tens of 100 trouble spots on record? Last
\nJanuary alone, 33 cases of street crime were reported to police
\nand another 34 cases in February. Police efforts to deal with
\nstreet crimes by using high-tech equipment should also be
\nappreciated, despite the shortcomings.<\/p>\n
The special Short Message Service (SMS) number 1281 and the
\nhotline 112 could be cited as examples. Whenever we notice or
\nhear about a crime being committed, we could just send an SMS
\nmessage to the police or dial 112, even though a prompt response
\nprobably cannot be expected in such a one-way report. The police,
\nafter all, must double check the report with the nearest police
\nstation in the area where the crime is reported to have taken
\nplace. This takes time and is not very practical.<\/p>\n
The best thing the police can do under those circumstances is
\nto reconsider their efforts to maximize their performance within
\nthe limits of the number of personnel and funds. Early this
\nmonth, while warning the public of the rising street crime rate,
\nthe police introduced a new method of categorizing crimes, just
\nto enable them to deal with them.<\/p>\n
Despite all the efforts, we all know that the bottom line is
\n\"the man behind the gun.\" High-tech equipment will mean nothing
\nif the persons in charge are not qualified and are not
\nprofessional. Good programs will be poorly implemented by people
\nwho are not professional. The new method of categorizing crimes
\nwould be meaningless if the police fail to act accordingly.
\nProfessionalism is therefore the key. To meet the public's demand
\nthat the streets of Jakarta be made safer, a breakthrough is
\nneeded.<\/p>\n
Last year, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that
\nby the end of 2004, the ratio between police officers and the
\npopulation will be brought to 1:750. To meet that objective, from
\n2003 onwards the police want 26,000 new recruits (annually).<\/p>\n
In the meantime, while we wait for the police efforts to throw
\noff some results, we can only increase our watchfulness on the
\nstreets and improve our neighborhood security systems. For now,
\nall we can do is try to survive in the jungle of Jakarta's
\nstreets and keep in mind that walking or driving alone -- even in
\nfull daylight -- can be a hazard.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-streets-of-jakarta-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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