Police target crime aboard public transportation

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Responding to a significant rise in crime on buses and trains, city police are putting plain clothes detectives and uniformed officers in public vehicles.

City police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani over the weekend the office's new drive, Operation Baladewa, had the ultimate goal of stamping out crime in public transportation.

"We have received many reports of robberies or pickpocketing offenses and so we have launched a special operation to answer these complaints. The operation will last for a month. After that, we will review it to see whether we should continue it," Firman said.

He said that during three days of bus raids, police had arrested 28 people for 20 offenses and confiscated evidence, including cellular phones, watches and jewelry.

He said the operation was part of police efforts to move from a "defensive paradigm" -- just waiting for residents' to report crimes -- to more proactive, "offensive", position.

Earlier, city police authorities reported that street crime, including robbery, pickpocketing and theft, had increased by almost 25 percent to 24,091 cases in the first five months of 2005 compared to 19,792 cases over the same period in 2004.

Many people now express uneasiness about taking rides on the city's buses and trains. Victims have also criticized police for ignoring their complaints about the issue.

Rudy, 31, a resident of Bekasi, West Java welcomed the police's plan.

"I think it's time for them to do that. As a regular user of buses, I have always felt that someone is after my wallet or my bag. So, it is great news that they are concentrating on bus crimes," he told The Jakarta Post.

With the total number of commuters entering the city estimated to be three million a day, Firman said police would also deploy more officers on city trains, including trains from the capital to Depok, Bekasi, and Banten.

"We will focus on curbing crime in trains by deploying many officers inside several trains from and to Jakarta. We hope the operation will deter criminals," he said.

Firman said his officers had gathered data about which trains had the most cases of crimes as well as information about the criminals' methods during the past several months.