Police develop database on human trafficking
Police develop database on human trafficking
P.C. Naommy, Jakarta
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is working
with the National Police to develop a database on cases of human
trafficking.
Counter-trafficking officer Kristin M. Dadey of the IOM told
The Jakarta Post on Friday that the database, which is expected
to be completed within the next few months, would help provide
better statistics on incidents of trafficking and criminal
methods used.
"The police are currently having trouble collecting data on
the crime. Besides the poor system for organizing data, the
trouble also comes from the many victims who don't report their
cases to the police," said Kristin.
The National Police recorded only 650 human trafficking cases
from 1999 to 2003. Of the total number, 430 cases have been
closed.
Research carried out in 2003 by non-governmental organization
Women's Journal Foundation (YPJ) showed that as many as 5,000
women and children were trafficked to Batam island, a popular
weekend destination for Singaporeans and Malaysians in 2002.
According to IOM records, between 800,000 and 4 million cases
of human trafficking occur worldwide every year.
Besides providing a more accurate estimation of the number of
cases, the database would help the police maintain operations and
investigations. It would also provide current information that
could be relevant to an ongoing case.
"We are now formulating the database and determining the kind
of information that needs to be collected. But, the most
important information is data on the victims, and the methods
used by the perpetrators," said Kristin.
The IOM and donor country New Zealand will provide 30
computers for provincial police offices nationwide, and another
10 computers for National Police Headquarters in Jakarta.
The computers for National Police Headquarters will act as
servers, and will have online connections to receive information
from the other computers in the 30 working units at provincial
police offices around the country.
The database is part of a main project called The Pilot
Program in Indonesia to Combat the Trafficking of Human Beings
Through Law Enforcement, which is funded by the New Zealand
Agency for International Development.
Awareness of the problem in the country has grown steadily as
can be seen in the drafting of a law on human trafficking, the
endorsement of Law No. 23/2002 on child protection and the
issuance of Presidential Decree No.88/2002 on the prevention of
the trafficking of women and children.
In 2003, the U.S. government reclassified Indonesia from Tier
III to Tier II as a country that has shown significant efforts in
combating the crime. Tier I is for countries that are in full
compliance with the Act's minimum standard, and Tier III is for
countries that neither meet minimum standards, nor make
significant efforts.
The rank was based on data collected by U.S. foreign affairs
from 186 posts overseas, then presented at the annual national
congress in the U.S.
Countries classified as Tier III could face sanctions,
including the possible cutoff of non-humanitarian aid and
alienation by the world community.