No gambling in 3 days: City police
No gambling in 3 days: City police
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
City police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani has vowed to wipe out
gambling and other social vices in the capital within three days,
much shorter than the one-week deadline given by National Police
Chief Gen. Sutanto.
And to achieve this ambitious endeavor, Firman gathered on
Tuesday all sub-district and municipal chiefs of police in
Jakarta, Depok and Bekasi and had them sign a contract, wherein
each pledged to crack down on gambling and other vice in their
respective areas.
"If we continue to receive SMS messages or direct complaints
from the public or reports in media that gambling dens still
exist in a certain area after three days, we will replace that
area's chief without an investigation or a hearing process,"
Firman asserted during a coordination meeting of all police
chiefs and the city police's top brass on Tuesday.
The Police have provided a short message service (SMS) number
1717 for Jakarta residents to report crimes to the police.
Firman's move was apparently part of Firman's effort to
translate the order of new National Police Chief Gen. Sutanto,
who on Monday gave a one-week deadline for provincial police
chiefs to eradicate gambling in their respective areas.
Sutanto, who has a track record of being very tough on
gambling, warned the regional police chiefs that if they did not
comply with his order, they would be fired and face criminal
charges.
Recent reports alleged that at least 14 regional chiefs were
involved in the protection of gambling operations.
Gambling is very popular among Jakartans, despite being
officially illegal, and police officers have been accused of
aiding the operations or turning a blind eye to them.
The illegal numbers racket, known locally as the togel,
for instance, is popular in most kampongs. At least three togel
agents, which have hundreds of customers each day, can be found
in all the low-income neighborhoods throughout Jakarta.
Several agents also operate at bus stations, train station and
traditional markets to lure customers.
For lower-income people, togel is only one of several
gambling choices, which include a variety of dice and card games,
while for wealthy Jakartans, the game of choice can usually be
found in the many casinos across the city, from roulette or poker
to slot machines.
Despite police claims that they have regularly conducted raids
to cleanse the city of gambling dens and other gaming sites, most
have continued to flourish across the capital.
Most people believe the accusations that police officers and
military personnel supplement their incomes by acting as gambling
den protectors. A group of casino owners recently revealed that a
number of two- and three-star generals based at the national
police headquarters were their backers.
Firman also said on Tuesday that a team of police in charge of
monitoring the progress of is gambling crackdown order would soon
be established.
The team, he added, would be headed by city police deputy
chief Brig. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto, along with other high-ranking
officers, including the city's internal affairs chief, operations
chief and intelligence division chief.
During the meeting, all of the area police chiefs vowed to
fulfill all police duties, including internal re-organization,
fighting bribery, drugs and gambling.
"I have signed a contract requiring me to take care of
gambling, drugs, street crimes and smuggling in three months. I
require my officers to be able to report their performance in two
weeks before my deadline," Firman said.
He said that the team would evaluate the performance of all
the officers every week.