Neighborhood night-watch system to be intensified

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Military Command sees the siskamling or night watch system, as the most effective way to combat and prevent crime.

The night watch system is currently on the wane but the Military Command has vowed to strengthen it.

"We steadily encourage people to revive the system," Lt. Col. Didi Supandi, a spokesman for the Jakarta Military Command, told the Jakarta Post yesterday.

The siskamling, which literally means "neighborhood security system", is a practice where each family voluntarily take turns as observers who stay up late and watch over their neighborhood.

The system was formerly known as Ronda and dates back to the Dutch colonial era.

Didi said only few neighborhoods here still use the system today while many cannot perform it effectively at all. He said that this is because "they fear criminals more than criminals fear them."

"After Operation Cleansing people seem encouraged and braver," said Didi.

Police has also urged Jakartans to revive the siskamling , but a lot of neighborhoods here remain without the watch system for long.

Experts blame the system's decline on the individualistic way of life that exists in the city. (jsk)