Criminologists divided over student brawls

JAKARTA (JP): Two criminologists have voiced contradictory opinions on the trend of student brawls, with one saying the number would rise, while the other said it would decline.

Harkristuti Harkrisnowo from University of Indonesia believed the number of student brawls would increase this year mainly because of more stress as a result of the monetary crisis.

Many families will be hurt by the crisis, which has forced thousands of people out of jobs, thereby affecting the students' financial situation, Harkristuti told The Jakarta Post Saturday.

Despite the rising trend, however, it is not fair to always blame the students for their mischievous behavior because they are actually products of the education and social system, she said.

"Many students still like to spend their spare time fighting, even if it is for some irrational reason. Usually they will stop their brawling only during exam periods."

Another criminologist, Purnianti, from the same university, predicted the number of brawls would decline due to the increasing involvement of teachers and police in handling the situation.

She shared Harkristuti's opinion that the students could not be blamed and should not be labeled as nothing but troublemakers.

"Many students are not really aware of the consequences that result from their acts. Many can't distinguish between criminal acts and just behaving badly," she said.

Purnianti said many students still think that they would not be severely punished for whatever they had done because they were still underage.

Both Purnianti and Harkristuti were commenting on Tuesday's brawl, which took the life of Wawan, who was from the private technical high school Gunadarma in Matraman, East Jakarta.

Wawan, 17, is the first victim of a student brawl this year. He died Friday afternoon at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Central Jakarta, from head injuries sustained in the street brawl which took place in Kalibata, South Jakarta.

The police are still looking for a suspect in the incident.

Police data made available to the Post shows that last year, at least 13 students died, 50 were severely wounded and 30 were injured in brawls, which mostly took place on the streets and in bus shelters.

At least 1,550 students were caught from an estimated 110 brawls last year.

Some 27 students have been brought to court, while 68 are still being investigated by the police.

The data also shows that more students from technical high schools were involved in brawls last year than students from regular high schools or junior high schools.

At least 55 technical high schools have been recorded on police lists due to their students' involvement in brawls.

Purnianti said it was not fair that parts of society labeled all students of technical high schools as troublemakers.

"Some of them are good students. The stereotype attached to them sometimes just makes them intentionally do bad things because they think they will still be labeled as bad students even if they do not do such things," she said.

Purnianti called on teachers, parents and the police to build a better relationship in a bid to anticipate further brawls among schoolchildren.

Harkristuti urged parents not to focus only on collecting and providing material wealth for their children.

"I'd also like to suggest that the police impose stern action against students caught during brawls," she said.

"Bring them to court if there is enough evidence. Or ask parents and teachers to pick up negligent students from police stations and don't set them free before they sign a deal," she said.

It was important for the students to be fully aware that their conduct affects other people's lives, especially other students and their parents, said Harkristuti.

A senior-ranking police officer said earlier that problems like student brawls could never be eliminated and that the best way to anticipate them was to launch persuasive approaches.

"We can't handle the students' violence by applying tough measures against them," said the colonel, who asked for anonymity.

He said the police was now intensifying its efforts to stimulate awareness and discipline among students.

Hundreds of junior and high school students have been invited to join the Pelajar Siaga (Alert Students) program.

The program provides students with information, knowledge and discipline. So far, very few students of troubled schools are involved in the program.

"Students who join the program are expected to be able to persuade their friends not to get involved in brawls," said the officer.

"It is a long-term project. We won't see the result in days or months, but at least we've planted the seeds," he said. (cst)