More criminal suspects shot dead by police

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Almost every day it seems, the media report that at least one suspected robber has been shot dead by police.

This perception is supported by data held at the forensic department of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM), which shows that the number of firearm victims increased by 140 percent, from 108 in 2000 to 255 last year.

RSCM is the only hospital in Jakarta authorized to carry out visum et repertum (a post-mortem designed to collect evidence for a police investigation) on suspected murder victims. Anybody whose death has not been attributed to natural causes is sent to its morgue.

Police sent two unidentified bodies to the hospital on Monday. The two were shot, respectively, on Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta, Central Jakarta, and in Tambora, West Jakarta, after robbing bajaj (three-wheel motorized cab) passengers.

Police said officers shot the two because they had ignored warning shots and tried to escape.

However, there have been allegations that in some cases the police have deliberately killed suspected criminals.

This was confirmed by A. Mun'im Idris from the RSCM forensics department and criminologist Adrianus Meliala from the University of Indonesia.

Mun'im said that he had inspected the bodies of several people that he believed had been killed intentionally by the police, based on their wounds, which indicated they had been shot in the head at close range.

He said the police might be resorting to unjustified killings as a short-term solution to the increasing incidence of crime in the city.

In 2001, the crime rate increased significantly due to the prolonged economic crisis, according to Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara, speaking in December last year.

The number of robberies increased by 36 percent to 6,453 in 2001, while car and motorcycle thefts rose by 100 percent to 6,046.

Meanwhile, Meliala said that there were three possible explanations for the increasing number of firearm victims.

First, the uncontrolled circulation of firearms within the Jakartan population; second, the increased number of criminal attacks on members of the public and the police, and third, the attitude prevalent within some sections of the police force that it was easier to shoot suspects than deal with cases according to proper procedures.

Mun'im said murder was a violation of human rights, but that he could understand when police shot dangerous criminals who threatened the lives of innocent people.

"This might be a short-term solution. The police might feel that they have the right to eliminate all the thugs who threaten society," he said.

Mun'im added that the huge number of firearm victims also showed that the public could not rely on the country's legal system, as many suspects who were sent to court received lenient sentences.

As for the police, it was understandable if they felt disappointed because they sensed that their hard work was not being appreciated, he said.

"The police feel that they have worked hard risking their lives in fighting the bad guys. They must be disappointed seeing those they have arrested receiving light sentences in court", he said.

Secretary General of Human Rights Asmara Nababan strongly condemned the shooting of suspects, saying that it not only violated human rights but was also against the law.

"The presumption of innocence should apply not only to (former president) Soeharto but also to suspected robbers," he said.

Asmara noted that the shooting of criminal suspects could inspire people to take the law into their own hands, as seen in the widespread incidence of street vigilantism.

And the shooting of criminals would not be effective in reducing crime.

"During Soeharto's regime, shock therapy to combat crime was conducted in 1982 and 1983. For almost a year, hundreds and maybe thousands of suspected criminals were shot dead in so-called mysterious killings. But it failed to reduce the number of crimes," Asmara said.

"The police must fight crimes, not criminals," he stressed.

He added that the police were only entitled to shoot someone in self-defense.

Sr.Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam, the city police spokesman, said the police were forced to shoot the suspects because they had attacked his officers.

"Currently, they are becoming fearless in fighting the police, or running away," he said.

He claimed that a lot of police officers had died because of the brutality of criminals, but he failed to give the number.

Anton added that, before shooting a suspect, all police officers were obliged to obey the standard operating procedures on the use of firearms. If a suspect tries to resist, three warning shots must be fired in the air. If he or she continues to resist, police officers have the right to shoot at the suspect.

But he admitted there were times when the police wrongfully shot suspects. "For instance, they aimed at the suspect's leg but the bullet hit him in the head."