Crime inevitable in big city, Moerdiono says
Crime inevitable in big city, Moerdiono says
JAKARTA (JP): Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said
yesterday that the presence of crime in a big city like Jakarta
is inevitable.
"This is an accompanying problem which arises in the
development of every major city of the world," Moerdiono said
during a one-day seminar on the socio-cultural impacts of
Jakarta's development.
Speaking on the city's potential as a showcase of future urban
developments in Indonesia, Moerdiono said the perpetrators of
criminal acts are usually those who feel alienated from their
group of origin and thus operate in a anonymous atmosphere.
According to Moerdiono the rural people who come to the city
undergo a massive psychological transformation whereby their
lives are no longer attuned to nature but the high-paced activity
of city life.
In Jakarta people are under constant pressure from the early
hours of the morning to late at night. Social ties become loser
and people tend to be more individualistic.
This atmosphere leads to the sinking of social values and
control in the day to day actions of a person.
"It is reflected in the increase of crimes involving housing
complexes and cars," Moerdiono said.
The brutal murder of Brig. Gen. TMF Tampubolon on April 14 in
Cipinang, East Jakarta, the drug case involving starlet Ria
Irawan, along with the impending Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) conference in Bogor and Jakarta in November,
which is expected to attract several thousand foreign visitors to
Jakarta, has caused officials to focus on security in the
capital.
To alleviate these concerns, in April the city authorities
launched the Operation Cleansing anti-crime drive involving army,
police and marine corps personnel from Jakarta, Tangerang and
Bekasi.
1,000 arrested
In just over three months, more than 1,000 people have been
captured for various offenses, and 10 guns, 340 sharp weapons,
403,000 bottles of alcoholic drinks and almost four million doses
of illegal drugs have been confiscated.
Moerdiono advocated social control as well. "Ethnic
associations can function positively as tools of social control
in reducing the sense of alienation which is a common feature in
big cities," Moerdiono said.
The minister went on to warn of the potential dangers of large
music and sports events.
He called to mind a music event last year which turned into a
riot which resulted in the damaging of several nearby houses and
a minister's car which was passing through the area.
Moerdiono was referring to the Metallica concert in Lebak
Bulus, South Jakarta, where Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman's
car was vandalized by angry youths.
When packed together in a limited area, people can lose
control and commit acts of a violent nature, he said, while
calling special attention to the problems presented by such mass
gatherings. (arf/mds)