Crime on the rise

Crime on the rise

It is now a public secret that crime in the capital and
elsewhere in the country is on the rise, whether we like it or
not. Many people are asking if taking a bus or taxi is still
safe. Foreign tourists might even ask themselves if going to
nightclubs or listening to music in hotel lobbies is still an
enjoyable thing to do.

The reason is mainly because the police, who are supposed to
protect society, more often than not arrest the wrong people when
conducting raids in search of illegal drugs and other illegal
activities.

A case in point is the police raid on May 13 on street vendors
selling illegal goods near the downtown Glodok Plaza. When the
street vendors became violent it was because they felt the police
were taking away their livelihood and their small profits. The
rioting only showed that they had lost their senses because of
their desperate economic position.

It is believed that the number of unemployed young people is
also increasing, with many factories shutting down. Police should
concentrate on arresting the true culprits and intensifying their
patrols in search of the criminals who are roaming the capital.

Drug abusers, gambling dens, massage parlors, houses of
prostitution and transvestite cafes are not the sources of the
national unrest which constitutes a threat to the country's
economy.

The Glodok riot following the police raids on VCD vendors
surely was not an excellent promotion for attracting more foreign
investors, on whom the country's economy so badly depends.

It is about time the police, with their limited manpower,
shift their focus to fighting smuggling activities, not
interfering in the interarchipelagic trade involving so many
small workers.

The Jakarta regional authorities should not take threatening
measures for small things like parking permits, while allowing
beggars to roam the city, school buildings to remain unrepaired
and serious sewage problems and street flooding to go unattended
without proper care.

If the little men unite in protest against the meddling of the
authorities in their meager livings, a sort of "people power"
movement may be formed sooner or later. And lawlessness may then
prevail, which would make things more difficult to handle.

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta