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?