Agencies sought to care for crime victims
JAKARTA (JP): Experts and police called in unison on both the authorities and non-governmental organizations at a seminar yesterday to set up bodies or foundations to take care of the fate of crime victims.
The seminar, entitled National Symposium. Protecting Crime Victims, held at the School of Medicine of the University of Indonesia, stated it was ironical if the existing laws and the community fought hard to defend the human rights of crime suspects, but left crime victims alone to shoulder the painful consequences of the crime.
"Having protection from disturbers ...is in principle included in human rights. Crime victims are among the weak groups (socially, mentally, physically), who often cannot protect and help themselves," said Arif Gosita, a criminologist from the University of Indonesia.
The one day seminar, jointly organized by the university's School of Criminology and the city police, was attended by noted experts and high-ranking police officers.
"So far, there is not yet fair treatment and service to crime victims from the suspects' families, community and authorities," said Arif.
City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Moch. Hindarto expressed similar ideas in his speech read out by his deputy, Brig. Gen. Ismet Ibrahim W.
"This was also proven by the fact that the existing criminal code procedure, which regulates on the whole process of crime handling, from its investigation to trial, gives small attention to the rights of crime victims," said Hindarto.
Since the enactment of the law in 1981, he said, police have become too scrupulous in the treatment of criminals due to the presence of external control, exercised for example by lawyers.
Hindarto hailed the plentiful human rights content of the code as "legal development", saying however that the code, due to its focus on the rights of crime suspects, sets meticulous procedures which keep law enforcers from quickly "treating" the crime victims.
"Many cases cannot be solved due to procedural complexity or because too many rights are granted to the criminals. This proves painful to the victims, who have toiled and suffered losses from their deeds," said Hindarto.
Hindarto noted there are many criminals today who are clever at protecting themselves under the umbrella of human rights and many lawyers disrupt cases to protect criminals for money.
Three
According to Arif, as far as fair treatment was concerned, crime victims were entitled to three things. They are restitution if the perpetrators can afford it; compensations from the government if the perpetrators cannot do so; and material, psychological assistance from the public and authorities.
"What happens today is tragic. People wounded by a robber must pay their own medical treatment. And no party, for example, officially gives significant support to a widow of little children when her husband is killed by criminals," said Arif.
Ismet acknowledged that police thus far give no significant support to crime victims during post-crime period.
"Our focus is how to capture the criminals. We have too limited resources to also take care of the victim's welfare," he told The Jakarta Post.
Arif and Hindarto also asked the authorities and the community to establish the so-called "fire-victims assistant foundations" to take care of crime victims, whose equivalent, they said, were available in many foreign countries.
Hindarto also proposed that crime victim insurance be applied, with the premium to be taken from taxes and under which people can get compensations for the losses created by criminals. (jsk)