Police to adobt new system to tackle rising crime
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The rising crime rate in the metropolis had prompted the Jakarta Police to adopt an emergency response system for government offices and embassies in partnership with a private security consultant.
"With the high technology system, the police can respond to emergency calls more quickly," the head of operations at the Jakarta Police, Sr. Comr. Oegroseno, said over the weekend.
He revealed that the project, which will use the Global Positioning System (GPS), would cost billions of rupiah.
"First, government buildings and embassies will receive the service. We will install equipment with which the residents of the buildings can press a button to quickly alert the nearest patrolling officers," he added.
When the button is pressed, an electronic map at the Jakarta Police Headquarters would instantly tell the duty officers of an emergency situation taking place at that particular location.
The officers would then quickly contact the nearest GPS- equipped patrol car, Oegroseno explained.
He added that private companies like banks could subscribe to the system.
"They will not pay the police, but the system provider, which will be a private security consultant," he said. "So far two consultants have talked to us about the possibility of a partnership."
"The service is not profit-oriented, of course," he said, refusing to provide details about the profit-sharing arrangement between the consultant and the police.
He argued that, in his analysis, Jakarta needed such a service.
Police data showed that throughout 2002 there were 2,099 robberies and muggings reported, 4,687 burglaries and 5,992 incidents of auto theft.
The data meant that in 2002 there were an average 175 robberies in a month, 390 burglaries and 499 vehicles stolen.
In 2003, there were an average 168 robberies and muggings in a month, 510 burglaries and 532 vehicles stolen.
Clearly indicating an upward trend, as of September this year, there were an average of 205 robberies and muggings in a month, 648 burglaries and 763 cases of auto theft.
He said that police data did not show the details of each case, and that it would take time for the police to produce data on the frequency of robberies at houses and at offices, for example.
The operations department is now organizing the data to analyze trends in crime, Oegroseno said.
He further said that the department was also improving the police emergency hotline, 112.
"We have received complaints that the operators are often late in answering calls. So, we have hired a call center expert to remedy the situation," he said.