Community guards train for psy-ops

Community guards train for psy-ops

JAKARTA: As many as 1,700 of some 30,000 community security
guards who are members of the Hansip force in the city will
receive training on how to handle demonstrators.

Among the subjects to learn are the mob psychology and
techniques to calm down large groups and to find the
provocateurs, Head of the City Public Order and People's
Protection Office, Subagio, said Tuesday.

He made the statement after attending a ceremony to observe
the 41st anniversary of Hansip with Minister of Home Affairs Hari
Sabarno as the inspector, Antara reported.

Besides Hansip, there are more than 2,000 community guards
called Banpol members assigned to the city's mayoralty offices
and City Hall, Subagio said, adding that Banpol had 100
motorcycles which could be used as patrol vehicles.

The organization of Hansip was created on April 19, 1962 based
on a decree from the minister of defense.

In its development, the city administration, through its
decree No. 3/2001, put Hansip under the Public Order Office.

Jakarta has 29,680 Hansip members who receive a monthly salary
of Rp 350,000 each. The administration plans to increase their
wages to Rp 750,000 this year.

In 2003, the administration allocated Rp 5.5 billion for the
City Public Order officers. As much as Rp 300 million is for
street operations, especially against pak Ogah (amateur traffic
regulators).--JP