More armed police needed for bank security: Rusdihardjo

JAKARTA (JP): National Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo said on Wednesday that more armed police officers would be deployed to secure bank withdrawals, following the attempted robbery on Monday in which a North Jakarta Police officer was shot.

"Personnel and weapons will be added ... rifles will be allowed, since the threat toward one's life is quite serious," Rusdihardjo told reporters following a visit to the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta, where Chief Corporal Durjani of the North Jakarta Police internal affairs office is receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.

Rusdihardjo said city residents should not get emotional over the shooting of Durjani during the attempted robbery of a safe containing Rp 2.5 billion (US$357,200) in front of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) on Jl. Veteran, Central Jakarta.

"There should be no ill feelings for revenge, no street justice. Our police force will do its best to find the remaining five suspects involved in Monday's attempted robbery," he said.

Durjani is currently being cared for at the hospital by his wife and four children. Fitri, his daughter, is working at the gambling/prostitution unit of the North Jakarta Police detectives, while another child is planning to enter the police force this year.

Durjani shot and killed a man, identified as Djafar, in front of the BRI branch on Jl. Veteran. Durjani was shot by Djafar in his thighs.

Detective Maj. Budiono Sandi said the Rp 2.5 billion belonged to the Tanjung Priok BRI branch, and was withdrawn from the central bank on Jl. M.H. Thamrin.

Rusdihardjo said the rate of solving thefts, in comparison to cases of murder or violence, was low.

"This is due to the spontaneity, the quickness of the crime, the sudden loss of the suspects' trail, the witnesses' lack of will to testify and the lack of police ability to solve the crime," Rusdihardjo said.

Central Jakarta Police chief Col. Timur Pradopo said Djafar, who held the safe, was about to escape on a motorcycle his friend was riding.

"That motorcycle was stolen from the scene of the crime. The motorcycle Djafar and his friend originally used was left at the crime scene," Timur said.

"When we checked the registration number of that motorcycle and traced it to an address, its owner said he had sold it long ago to someone else, and he gave us an address."

"We found out there was no such address. The person who bought the motorcycle from its former owner must have been involved in the robbery attempt also."

Mulyana, 30, told reporters at the hospital that he was quite sure that they were followed from the central bank.

"If you check the van's flat tire, it has a long gash in it, which was probably caused by a sickle. There were six men. Four men on two motorcycles approached our van. The other two were waiting outside the fence of BRI," he said.

Timur said police were still searching for clues to solve a bank robbery in Central Jakarta, where a suspect shot a security guard in the leg before escaping with Rp 150 million worth of employees' salaries withdrawn on Jan. 27. (ylt)