'Police can't wipe out gambling alone'

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A criminologist urged the public and officials to help the police in their efforts to crack down on gambling rackets in Jakarta, asserting that the police alone could not accomplish the task.

Adrianus Meliala from the University of Indonesia said on Friday that eradicating gambling could not be done over night as it was a multi-faceted problem that was linked to political, social and economic issues.

"I doubt that the police can wipe out all gambling establishments in Jakarta in three days. Well, probably, we won't see it physically. But what about other forms of unseen gambling, such as gambling through the Internet, or big-time gambling in the Kepulauan Seribu regency?" he told The Jakarta Post.

He said that the police were able to close down all the gambling dens in Jakarta as owners of gambling centers were also playing safe by suspending their operations right after National Police chief Gen. Sutanto declared his intention to declare war on gambling.

"I heard that at the moment big-time owners have stopped their activities. But for how long? As gambling is a cultural phenomenon just like prostitution, we can't expect it to disappear just like that," Adrianus argued.

He said the city administration, councillors and religious groups were hypocritical for being silent after Sutanto and Jakarta police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani declared the policy against gambling earlier this week.

"Eradicating gambling is related with policy making. For example, while the police are busy with the raid on gambling dens, the city administration and the councillors are pushing for the legalizing of gambling in a restricted area," he added.

Sutanto, who has a track record of being tough on gambling, gave a one-week deadline on Monday for provincial police chiefs to eradicate gambling in their respective areas. He warned them that if they did not comply with his order they would be fired and face criminal charges.

Firman quickly ordered his top officers, precinct and subprecinct chiefs to eradicate gambling in the capital in three days with the assurance that chiefs who failed to clean up their area would lose their position.

Reliable police sources, however, say that during the past three days, however, no big gambling dens have been raided and neither have big-time casino owners been arrested.

Some 500 players and gambling dens owners throughout Greater Jakarta area had been arrested by the police up until Friday.

"We have closed all the gambling dens in the capital. We won't let them operate in the capital anymore," City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said.

Chairman of the Indonesian Police Watch Heri Sudrajat acknowledged that police efforts had a positive effect.

"Many gambling dens have closed their operations. It shows that police efforts have paid off. It is good that they voluntarily closed down their operations. Repressive measures should be the last resort. If after this they open again then the police must be tough on them," he told the Post.

Table

The catch in the three-day raids

No. Area number of dens suspects arrested 1. S. Jakarta 29 61 2. W. Jakarta 33 59 3. N. Jakarta 26 41 4. C. Jakarta 42 108 5. East Jakarta 30 70 6. Bekasi 10 18 7. Depok 1 1 8. Police headquarters 40 160

and precincts Total 211 518