Is Jakarta safe?

Is Jakarta safe?

Armed robbery is becoming an increasingly serious problem in
Greater Jakarta. Many of the victims are bank customers forced to
hand over their savings for fear of being shot.

It would be interesting to know the kinds of guns used by the
criminals and how and where these guns were obtained.

The police, unable to get to bottom of these crimes, simply
state that the criminals must have used "illegal guns".

According to the police, only 1,813 citizens in the country
are legally licensed to own firearms.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said those people
with permits to own firearms were known to the police, and the
armed robberies must have been committed by criminals in the
possession of non-licensed guns.

The point is that many criminals use guns in the course of
their crimes and ordinary citizens, especially bank clients, no
longer feel safe when out on the streets.

Now is not the time to argue about whether the guns used by
criminals are licensed or not; now is the time to put away the
criminals and restore the public's trust in their personal
safety.

People know that guns can be bought at markets, but only those
who have the money can afford to purchase a gun to protect
themselves from criminals.

However, the recent killing of PT Asaba president director
Budy Harto Angsono and his bodyguard, a member of the Army's
Special Forces (Kopassus), proved that possessing a gun is no
guarantee that you will be safe from danger.

Despite the possibility that the fatal shooting of Budy and
his bodyguard was the result of a personal dispute, people
hearing about the crime take it as further proof that nobody is
safe.

The fatal shooting of Budy took place less than two months
after PT Asaba's finance director was shot by unidentified
assailants in Central Jakarta. Paulus Gunawan is still
hospitalized and the police seem to have no leads in either of
the shootings.

There is speculation Paulus' shooting is linked to the killing
of Budy. What is clear is that both of the shootings were carried
out by professional killers hired to commit murder.

One man involved in the personal protection business once told
a local paper that to kill a person cost between Rp 20 million
and Rp 25 million, while injuring someone cost between Rp 500,000
and Rp 5 million.

Police continue to deny that there are professional killers
for hire in the country, despite the evidence to the contrary.

We believe that there are people who can be hired to kill. The
police should stop denying the existence of killers for hire and
start investigating where criminals are getting their guns
from.

There are interesting points to be noted in the fatal shooting
of Budy. First, his bodyguard was a member of Kopassus, clearly
indicating that the bodyguard business not only exists, but also
involves soldiers or police officers, a fact denied by military
leaders.

There also are indications that the shooter was well-trained,
raising questions about where he received this training.

Eyewitnesses said that they did not hear any shots, meaning
the gun used by the killer was fitted with a silencer, which are
meant only to be used by the military. This has been confirmed by
the police.

Without pointing fingers at any group, we can only hope that
the police will work harder to overcome the challenges in front
of us.

Nonsense statements and denials are of no use. People do not
care if the criminals use licensed or non-licensed guns. The
situation is clear: armed robberies are becoming commonplace and
two people were just shot dead in a public place in broad
daylight.