Police take tough action against student brawlers

JAKARTA (JP): North Jakarta Police have taken stern action against disobedient high school students in a bid to counter the rising death toll from interschool brawls this year.

Lt. Col. Rismawan, the head of North Jakarta Police, admitted that the precinct was prone to brawls, especially among technical high school students.

"I can no longer call it mere juvenile delinquency," he said. "It has become student brutality."

He said police deal directly with students involved in brawls and those caught with sharp weapons during school hours. They are usually questioned, a dossiers prepared and all information is then passed on to prosecutors for further action.

"It's already a crime, we can't tolerate it," he said.

"I have listed STM Bahariwan in Kelapa Gading as the most problematic school. Its students are aggressive," he said, adding that students from the school were involved in most brawls.

He said police had been working with teachers and school staff toward a joint approach for reducing the intensity of brawls.

"We're actually looking forward to organizing a meeting with parents to let them know," he said. "They are ignorant about whether their children are either endangered or dangerous.

"After questioning students, I invite their parents to come to my office. But not all of them are informed about my invitation and somebody else represents them instead."

As part of the precinct's preventive action, police officers attend schools on Mondays to join the flag-hoisting ceremony. Occasionally, police become the ceremony leader.

"Every day police patrol the streets at certain hours, before and after school, and we also make a surreptitious inspection of their belongings," he said.

He admitted that street brawling was a difficult issue to handle because it was linked with other social problems. He pointed to the economic level of those living in North Jakarta.

"Most of the students, who are detained for possessing sharp weapons or caught in brawls, come from less fortunate families," he said. "How can I solve this problem alone?"

He said police had identified the danger spots and plainclothes officers were patrolling these area.

The three black spots in North Jakarta are Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, Jl. Cakung-Cilincing and the Plumpang bus stop on Jl. Yos Sudarso.

This year, three students from privately run technical high schools in North Jakarta have been killed during street brawls. A total of nine students have been killed in Greater Jakarta.

The latest victim was Ade Rukmana, 17, a student from STM Bahariwan technical school, who was attacked and fatally stabbed in the chest in September.

Another STM Bahariwan student, 17-year-old Mujiono, was stabbed in the chest while boarding a bus from school in August.

In the same month, Irwanto, 16, a student from STM Ristek in East Jakarta, who lived on Jl. Kalibaru, was beaten to death on Jl. Cakung-Cilincing in North Jakarta. (04)