Jakarta maintains reputation of lawless jungle
Jakarta maintains reputation of lawless jungle
OR
Grizzly crimes continue unabated in Jakarta
Emmy Fitri and
Damar Harsanto
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Jakarta has turned into a lawless jungle where crooks prey on
the innocent and the police are left to clean up the mess.
There is no set figures to describe how bad it is on Jakarta's
streets as many choose not to report their ordeals to the police.
Many are haunted with dread each time they go out because crime
can happen anytime to anybody.
In early January on busy Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta, in broad
daylight two youths approached a car, so calm and collected that
the car driver had no inkling of what was to come. When they
removed the side mirrors -- right and left -- from his car, there
was nothing he could do. A few minutes later they left the scene
just as calmly as they had arrived.
In Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, top lawyer Hotman Paris
Hutapea witnessed youths, armed with red axes, surround a car and
demand valuables from its defenseless passengers. The group,
called the Kapak Merah (Red Axe) gang, got away with jewelry,
cellular phones and money.
Easy to spot and recognize with their axes, some of the gang
members have been gunned down by the police, but nonetheless it
is likely that more people have joined the gang over the past
year due to the scarcity of job opportunities and life's ever-
increasing daily demands. It appears that the number of Red Axe
gang members has not decreased and the intensity of their
activities remains high.
One can reduce the risk of falling victim to street crime by
rarely leaving home, but even inside one's house, it is still
unsafe -- whether you are wealthy or poor.
The bottom line is that Jakarta remains unfriendly to its
residents as the denser the population, the more problems there
are to be dealt with. Among the major problems is the high number
of offenses, not to mention the latest method of combining
political motives and acts of terror, such as using explosives to
harm and intimidate others.
Police data paints a grim picture, revealing that crime
abounds in the capital.
As the end of 2001 nears, police data shows that on average,
21 armed robberies have taken place every week throughout the
year, some of them injuring the victims. Some 12 cars and
motorcycles have been stolen weekly and two dead bodies with stab
wounds have been found every week.
Most crimes happened in public places, like on the street,
public buses, at bus terminals, intersections and also shopping
malls.
Jakarta Police deputy spokesman Comr. Alex Mandalika
acknowledges that it is likely the number of offenses is even
higher due to the number of unreported instances.
"There are many people who prefer not to report incidents to
the police," he said.
Why do people prefer not to report crimes against them? The
most probable answer is that they do not trust the police to
solve the crime.
In many cases, the police seem to be too slow, not to say
powerless, to prevent crime.
For instance, the case of armed robberies targeting bank
customers rose significantly in October, to 11 cases from an
average of three cases in previous months, according to police
data.
In one case, robbers immobilized their victims by shooting
them and fled with Rp 1.7 billion and US$16,500.
Dedi Kurniawan, 30, Yuliana, 30, Amar, 45, Untung Rumino, 52,
Daud Budiarto, 59, Nurdin, 30, Buyung Suhendri, 47 Tina Setiani,
16, Maya Devayanti, 36, Ashit Metha, 32, and Vinot Patel, 43, are
among those who were shot -- mostly in the leg -- between August
and October after being followed leaving banks.
The shooting death of Chief Brig. Slamet Riyanto, a police
officer who was safeguarding Bank Central Asia's branch in
Bungur, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, in October, became a wake-up
call for the police.
Former Jakarta Police chief Comr. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb once
prepared special units to increase the number of police personnel
deployed at banks to help security guards.
Just one month after the Bungur incident, police detectives
managed to arrest Agung Widodo, 29, in Bantul, Yogyakarta, on
suspicion of masterminding a string of robberies in Jakarta. Was
this a success story or an act of vengeance (toward the culprits
who have killed their colleague)?
One opinion can be formed from this example: if the police are
really serious about cracking down on crime, more cases would be
solved.
However, classical excuses, such as the limited number of
personnel and resources and the disproportionate ratio of police
officers to the people they have to serve, are still used by the
police to counter allegations that they are too slow in cracking
down on crime.
Other big question is: how long will the public continue to
accept such excuses?