'Conflict maps' to deal with crime

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: The South Sumatra Police chief has introduced a new approach to curb the growth of the region's crime.

Insp. Gen. Suparto, who assumed his post as provincial police chief only three months ago, said in Palembang on Wednesday that the modern 'conflict map' approach had worked effectively in reducing the region's crime rate to 2.6 percent over the last three months.

Suparto claimed that he was already familiar with all the areas of vice and crime in South Sumatra as well as the personal traits and habits of regional outlaws.

"Once known as the 'home of killings', South Sumatra has one of the highest murder rates in Indonesia," he said.

With the new approach, he instructed all police precinct chiefs to draw up conflict maps in their respective areas in order to identify possible outbreaks of hostilities and make proper precautions.

"The region's rising crime rate in the last quarter was still much lower than the national benchmark of 11 percent," Suparto added.

On the other hand, Suparto is further urging his subordinates to speed up the handling of reported criminal cases, as the rate of settlement has so far only increased by 10 percent from as low as 40 percent. (33)