Wanted, an integrated approach to thuggery!<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Three days after his release from a police detention center in
\nJuly, Salim, 23, was back on the streets, extorting money from
\ndrivers passing by Tanah Abang market.<\/p>\n
\"I was arrested together with dozens of others in a big raid
\nin July. I spent one week inside the cell and was released after
\nmy family paid the police Rp 200,000. Several days after that, I
\ncame back to work here,\" he told The Jakarta Post while pocketing
\nmoney from a driver on one of the market's roads recently.<\/p>\n
Salim was but one of thousands of thugs who were arrested but
\nlater released by the police during a crackdown against thuggery
\nhere in May.<\/p>\n
The operation, called Sarutama, was launched by National
\nPolice chief Gen. Sutanto after President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono received complaints about thuggery via SMS.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of suspected thugs were arrested during the raids,
\nbut police realized not too long after the detention centers were
\ntoo crowded.<\/p>\n
The presence of so many thugs in detention centers created
\nanother problem for the cash-strapped city police: how to feed
\nthem.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the police were criticized by some experts
\nfor failing to look at the problem in its entirety, as young men
\nwere becoming thugs out of desperation brought about by poverty.<\/p>\n
They said any attempt to crack down on thuggery needed to be
\naccompanied by a job creation scheme.<\/p>\n
Overwhelmed by problems in feeding and accommodating the
\ndetainees and relentless criticism from experts, many police
\nofficers decided to release the thugs for quick cash.<\/p>\n
As early as August, it had become apparent that the operation
\nwas a failure as many thugs were back in business.<\/p>\n
That prompted some observers to accuse the city police of
\nusing the operation to earn extra income following the massive
\ncrackdown on gambling activities in the capital.<\/p>\n
An officer at Jakarta Police Headquarters, who requested
\nanonymity, admitted that questioning and pressing charges against
\nso many thugs was not an easy job, and that many officers at sub-
\nprecinct, precinct and headquarters level chose to quietly
\nrelease the detainees.<\/p>\n
\"Of course, many officers get additional income by letting the
\nthugs go. The families of those arrested people will be happy to
\npay. Releasing them also means that the problem of too many
\npeople in detention centers is solved,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
Noted criminologist of the University of Indonesia Adrianus
\nMeliala criticized the police's lack of planning and measures in
\ncracking down on thuggery in the capital.<\/p>\n
\"What is the objective of the operation? If it is just an
\neffort to appease the public in the short term then it is fine,
\n but if it aims at eradicating thuggery then it will be
\nineffective unless other agencies take an active part,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Adrianus said that other agencies, including the social
\naffairs agency and local administrations, should take part as the
\npolice could not do much in dealing with social problems such as
\nthuggery.<\/p>\n
\"All along, the police have fought alone. Remember, thuggery
\nrequires a social approach, not only a legal approach. And the
\npolice are law enforcers. So, the social affairs agency must take
\npart and provide funds to help the thugs (find jobs),\" he told
\nthe Post.<\/p>\n
He said not all the arrested thugs needed to be kept in state
\ncustody as rehabilitation programs run by other agencies could
\nprepare them to go back into society.<\/p>\n
Not only did the city police fail to eradicate thuggery on the
\nstreets, but in Greater Jakarta organized groups were able to
\ntake the law into their own hands.<\/p>\n
Police, for instance, chose to do nothing when a group of
\npeople blocked roads leading to three churches in Jati Mulya
\nhousing complex in Bekasi, West Java. They were also silent when
\na group of people claiming to be members of the Islam Defenders
\nFront (FPI) stopped the construction of a church in Cikarang,
\nalso in West Java.<\/p>\n
Police also did nothing when restaurants and cafes in Kemang,
\nSouth Jakarta, were forced to cease operations during Idul Fitri
\nafter alleged FPI members threatened to raid them if they
\nremained open.<\/p>\n
A restaurant chain owner in Jakarta complained that unless the
\ncity police took harsh action against organizations that take the
\nlaw into their own hands, the country would lose its existing
\nforeign investors, let alone attract new investors.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wanted-an-integrated-approach-to-thuggery-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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