Daytime robberies on the rise in Bandung

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung, West Java

West Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Dadang Garnida has expressed concern over the increase in the number of daytime robberies of bank customers over the last three months.

Addressing the celebration of the National Police's 57th anniversary here on Tuesday, Dadang said the increased number of robberies was shameful because police in the province had received the necessary help from the state, in terms of equipment and funding, to carry out their duties.

"I will ask for an evaluation of the use of facilities such as cars, motorcycles and other equipment, to try and find an explanation of why the police cannot do something about daytime robberies," he said.

The provincial police have assigned 26 cars, 100 minibuses, 20 trucks and 13 motorcycles to the police precincts in the province, including the Bandung Municipal Police, to help officers maintain security and order.

Dadang said all of the robberies of bank customers were helping to turn Bandung into an anxious city.

Over the last three months, police have recorded five major robberies of bank customers in the city. None of the robbers have been arrested.

Dadang urged the city's residents to be alert and to take steps to protect themselves when going about their daily business.

"Bank customers should be alert for daytime robberies. They can ask for an escort from the police or go to the nearest police office if they feel at all threatened when going to or from banks," he said.

Of the five robberies recorded in the last three months, three occurred after customers withdrew cash from Bank Jabar on Jl. Naripan. The other two robberies occurred as people were carrying foreign currency that they planned to exchange at a money changer and the Bank BNI respectively on Jl. Asia-Afrika.

The last incident occurred last Friday when two suspects on a motorcycle stole Rp 159 million (US$19,875) from bank customer Ismet Mahendra Bakti, the manager of travel agency Pesona Tour, on Jl. Taman Sari at 10 a.m.

A major robbery occurred on April 22 at 10:45 a.m., when four armed men made off with Rp 450 million belonging to the General Elections Commission. The money was to be used to finance the registration of eligible voters in the province.

The chief detective at the provincial police headquarters, Adj. Sr. Comr. Masguntur Laupe, said the police were having it difficult to crack the cases because of a lack of witnesses.

"The police are working hard to arrest the suspects in the five robberies and generally to improve security in public places," he said.