Metro Jaya Police Confirm Begal-Hunter Team Will Not Misuse Authority During Patrols

The Jakarta Metropolitan Police (Polda Metro Jaya) says the Begal-Hunter Team will not misuse authority while patrolling high-crime areas under their jurisdiction. Director of General Criminal Investigation (Reserse Kriminal Umum) of Polda Metro Jaya, Commissioner of Police Iman Imanuddin, said all personnel in the field must follow applicable regulations, including the principle of upholding human rights, before taking firm action against criminals.

“In its implementation, we remain guided by respect for human rights. We emphasise this because we also have rules to guide us in our field duties,” Iman told reporters at Mapolda Metro Jaya on Tuesday (19 May 2026).

The rules form the basis for firm and measured actions in the field. Considerations always focus on the safety of the public and the officers on duty.

“If they are seen using firearms and intend to use firearms against police and endangering the public, we will not hesitate to take firm and measured action,” he added.

The Begal-Hunter Team has been deployed to several hot spots within the jurisdiction of Polda Metro Jaya and will operate 24 hours a day, with intensified patrolling during hours that are prone to crime late at night.

“As for the time limits, it is not only until it is safe and then ends, but it will continue. Only the intensity may be the priority,” Iman said.

However, the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) argues that the formation of the team could be repressive and feared to cause casualties among the public.

“We even have field findings of victims reaching 15 people who died. This is what we fear could occur when the Begal-Hunter Team is formed,” said LBH Jakarta Director Fadhil Alfathan, via telephone on Tuesday.

Fadhil stressed that the handling of criminals should proceed through legal processes, not extrajudicial actions.

According to him, the police as law enforcers must go through various steps before handing offenders to the courts to determine their fate.

“Criminals should be arrested and processed legally, not killed. If they are killed, the police lose their primary function as law enforcers. They become a death squad here, Izrail, rather than a law enforcement body,” he said.

He emphasised the importance of cooperation between the police and local government to resolve the begal problem down to its roots, which is the welfare of the community.