Police target crime aboard public transportation

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.