Armed robbery cases jump, undercover cops deployed

Armed robbery cases jump, undercover cops deployed

Abdul Khalik
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The number of armed robberies rose significantly in January,
prompting police to deploy more undercover personnel in areas
frequently targeted by robbers.

Data from city police headquarters shows that robberies in
which firearms were used jumped from less than 10 cases in
December to 20 cases in January, including three over the past
three days.

City police general crime unit deputy chief, Adj. Sr. Comr.
Sigit Sudarmanto, acknowledged the trend, saying that robbers had
begun to change from their traditional weapons -- such as swords,
machetes, and knives -- to guns, possibly anticipating encounters
with police and also more effectively frighten their victims.

"We have noticed increasing numbers of robbers using guns in
their crimes. We have deployed more personnel in many places
across the city. We have also added more undercover officers to
investigate their networks," Sigit told The Jakarta Post.

He said city police had implemented the National Police
chief's order to institute police street patrols 24 hours a day
to secure the capital from such street crimes.

Police have built stations in each subdistrict across the
capital and installed early warning systems such as interactive
police radio, a short message service through 1717, and a car
patrol fitted with a satellite communications connection, Sigit
said.

However, the robberies continue. The most recent armed robbery
took place last Wednesday evening on Jl. Batu Ampar, Kramat Jati,
East Jakarta, when Herdiva Andreas, 21, an employee of a private
company in Jakarta was robbed by several persons using guns in a
crowded neighborhood.

A day before, four armed men robbed businessman Moh. Sukeda,
45, at a bus stop in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta. Using
motorcycles and guns, the four robbers forced Sukeda to hand over
Rp 50 million and his handphone on a busy street.

On Monday, armed robbers broke into an Internet cafe in Depok,
West Java, and took away all the computers in the shop and
injured one of the attendants.

Just two weeks ago, a security guard was shot dead when four
robbers stopped the vehicle he was guarding and stole Rp 400
million.

Sigit said police have managed to identify areas where armed
robbers commit their crimes, and also where they hide out.

"Often, they will commit crimes at traffic lights. But we have
identified certain areas where they operate and hide," he said.

Police have marked several areas in East Jakarta, Bekasi,
Depok, and North Jakarta as vulnerable places and deployed more
undercover police there.

On Tuesday, police managed to capture six members of an armed
criminal network known as the Demak group, and were in the
process of chasing down members of several other groups including
the Banten, Palembang and Indramayu groups.

With ever increasing numbers of illegal guns circulating in
Jakarta, little has been done to crack down on illegal firearms
dealers who sell weapons to such criminals, and are indications
that several organized groups are involved in the trade.

"It is impossible for us to conduct raids as we lack
personnel. All we can do is to tighten the monitoring of legal
guns so as to ensure they are used properly," said Sigit.

The recent confiscation of 534 guns smuggled from Taiwan by a
company partly explains why criminals can get guns so easily in
Jakarta. It has been estimated that there are 100,000 illegal
firearms in circulation.