Jakarta Police Form Anti-Theft Squad, Legal Aid Body Raises Concerns
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The Jakarta Metropolitan Police has formed an Anti-Theft Squad to address street crime in the Jakarta area. The squad will reportedly operate 24 hours a day to ensure security in Jakarta.
The Director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), Fadhil Alfathan, believes that the formation of the Anti-Theft Squad needs to be reviewed by the police. According to him, the use of the term ‘hunter’ in the official nomenclature of the police reflects a mindset that places civilians as threats to be hunted down and neutralised, rather than as legal subjects who are entitled to human rights and constitutional rights and deserve a fair legal process.
“In a democratic state governed by law, the police is not an institution of war. Its primary function is to enforce the law within the framework of the constitution and human rights,” he said in a statement confirmed by Republika.co.id on Sunday (17/5/2026).
He reminded that Jakarta has had bad experiences with security operations using a narrative of war against crime. He cited the period leading up to the 2018 Asian Games, when the police used a similar approach. This resulted in practices of shooting, torture, and alleged extrajudicial killings of people accused of being street criminals.
According to LBH Jakarta’s advocacy records, at least 15 people died and dozens more were injured by gunfire during police operations at that time. Many of them had not even been tried for their alleged crimes through a fair and legal judicial process.
“Furthermore, the security approach that places ‘enemies’ as targets to be hunted down also reminds the public of the Mysterious Shooting (Petrus) incidents in the period 1982–1985, which has been declared by Komnas HAM as a serious human rights violation,” said Fadhil.
According to him, this experience shows that public support for harsh action by law enforcement is often used as justification to reduce protection of the right to life, the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial. In such situations, public fear turns into justification for excessive use of force.
Fadhil believes that so far, the public has not received complete and adequate information regarding the supervisory mechanisms for the Anti-Theft Squad’s operations. This includes standards for the use of firearms, procedures for action in the field, and accountability mechanisms if there are casualties or deaths.
“The lack of transparency and accountability mechanisms shows that the approach being built emphasises repressive aspects rather than comprehensive and accountable security system improvements based on human rights,” he said.