Residents feel secure after hoodlums crackdown
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Residents, street vendors, public transportation drivers and commuters in Tangerang stated that they are all overjoyed to see peace in their surroundings following a series of police crackdowns against petty criminals, whose behavior makes most people feel insecure.
The local police are still carrying out the operation, and have arrested many known criminals, while those who escaped the raids have reportedly left the area.
Over the past two weeks, the police arrested a total of 159 men suspected to be involved in petty street crimes or public drunkenness in separate places in Tangerang. Some 67 of the suspects were nabbed while gambling on a cock fight on Jl. Sinar Hati, Karawaci, 18 men were picked up at Perumnas I and Cibodas bus terminal, 13 were arrested around Anyer market and Cimone, 5 were caught in Sangiang subdistrict and 56 others were arrested in the latest operation at Malabar market and near the Kebon Nanas toll gate.
Most of those who were arrested in public places were caught- red handed either gambling, drinking liquor, extorting money, carrying sharp weapons or failing to present proper identity cards.
Tangerang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wilardi Wizar said over the weekend that the crackdown against hoodlums had received strong support from all walks of life across the municipality.
"You're dead hoodlums. The police will get you and kill you all," shouted a public minivan driver, while witnessing one of the police operations.
Such spontaneous comments from the public is thought to represent most citizens who are frustrated and frightened by the thugs' actions. Most drivers said they felt powerless against the hoodlums, who rarely hesitated to resort to violence if one refused to give what was being asked from them.
The Jakarta Post spoke with a fried banana vendor, who echoed the driver's sentiment while watching the police operation in Cimone.
A similar attitude was also expressed by a young man who was in the area.
However, Wilardi Wizar admitted that not all the hoodlums were arrested in the police operation for a variety of reasons. He added that there should be no compromise with anyone found carrying weapons.
He also explained that the police had detained and legally processed those with weapons, but freed several others after giving them a stern warning not to cause further unrest.
Meanwhile, Gunawan, one of those arrested for carrying a sharp weapon, promised to stop extorting money from minivan drivers, adding that he carried a sharp weapon only to bluff drivers who refused to pay up.
"Officers are right and extorting money is wrong. If I'm freed later, I will try to find a job and will no longer cause any trouble for the public," he told the Post from behind the police bars.
The officer in charge of the operation Adj. Comr. Helfi Assegaf, said that the police needed to take stern action against hoodlums so that the public were encouraged to report any crime they encountered to the police.
Nonetheless, the recent police action against hoodlums is not without its critics. One of the freed detainees, Pram, said that the police had mostly arrested the wrong men.
"I am not a hoodlum. I've never caused unrest to residents," he said, adding that he and several other fellow detainees were just a group of men who work as drivers and vendors.
Commenting on the criticism, the police detective chief Insp. Kustanto said that, the police also questioned many who work or live in locations where crimes were prone to occur.
"In general, the roots of a crime begin from a small gathering of loiterers. Therefore, we do not care, if we find them with weapons, we arrest and process them according to the existing law," he told the Post.