Police to adobt new system to tackle rising crime
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.