Reduce crime in the city

Reduce crime in the city

From Jayakarta

Of late, violence in Jakarta and in the vicinity, which is supposed to be a model for other districts, is growing increasingly more gory. Robberies, slayings, thefts and other criminal acts are prevalent everywhere. It forms the daily diet of TV broadcasts and the press.

The public is getting more frightened each day. Doubts have arisen about the security sector, as many victims of lower social levels have fallen.

Robberies of cabbies, bajaj drivers, ojek motorists and money collectors usually end in cruel slayings. The same goes for petty crimes, which are topical news in the media. Violence and crime erupt easily. All these should have a cause. It is possible that rampant land appropriation could have a hand in the situation. Admittedly, these displaced people are at fault. Their plight, however, has been going on for years. Over time, most of them had been issued ID cards and they paid their dues to the land and housing revenue office, despite the fact that their domains occupied disputable or abandoned plots, or neglected state land.

Then suddenly, they were given only a few days to move. They were chased away and their houses were demolished. Nobody thought about their resettlement problems, not even if it was the rainy season.

Such situations will likely become a source of crime and violence. Even non-victims find it hard to suppress their emotions in sympathy of these land victims, especially if family members were found among the victims. These might be the seeds for vengeance.

Security officials are not able to do much in such situations, despite the suggestion that those withdrawing money from banks should request the company of security guards. This preventive measure is by no means a guarantee to keep crime at bay, since victims are not only those withdrawing millions; those with tens of thousands of rupiah in their pocket also fall prey to violent crime.

We hope that such violence will be localized, and should not spread to the regions. Otherwise, it might signal an unsteady situation throughout the nation.

We propose to the governor of Jakarta to function as a minister in the Jabotabek region right away. In this way, unsafe developments in the capital could be monitored, or directly reported at meetings of the cabinet. Aside from that, security officials should get together to organize themselves. They should not distribute telephone numbers in case of emergency only. It is time that neighborhood chiefs in large cities be equipped with walkie-talkies and be officially inducted as "information centers".

By the same token, there are many people sporting handphones today. The police should suggest to handphone owners that they be prepared to act as official "information centers". They should be issued membership cards to give them a sense of responsibility. If necessary, they should be sworn in too.

MYNA

Jakarta