'Police can't wipe out gambling alone'
'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