Robbery on the rise, detectives deployed
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The number of armed robberies rose significantly in January, prompting police to deploy more undercover personnel in areas frequently targeted by robbers.
Data from city police headquarters shows that robberies in which firearms were used jumped from less than 10 cases in December to 20 cases in January, including three over the past three days.
City police general crime unit deputy chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Sigit Sudarmanto, acknowledged the trend, saying that robbers had begun to change from their traditional weapons -- such as swords, machetes, and knives -- to guns, possibly anticipating encounters with police and also more effectively frighten their victims.
"We have noticed increasing numbers of robbers using guns in their crimes. We have deployed more personnel in many places across the city. We have also added more undercover officers to investigate their networks," Sigit told The Jakarta Post.
He said city police had implemented the National Police chief's order to institute police street patrols 24 hours a day to secure the capital from such street crimes.
Police have built stations in each subdistrict across the capital and installed early warning systems such as interactive police radio, a short message service through 1717, and a car patrol fitted with a satellite communications connection, Sigit said.
However, the robberies continue. The most recent armed robbery took place last Wednesday evening on Jl. Batu Ampar, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, when Herdiva Andreas, 21, an employee of a private company in Jakarta was robbed by several persons using guns in a crowded neighborhood.
A day before, four armed men robbed businessman Moh. Sukeda, 45, at a bus stop in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta. Using motorcycles and guns, the four robbers forced Sukeda to hand over Rp 50 million and his handphone on a busy street.
On Monday, armed robbers broke into an Internet cafe in Depok, West Java, and took away all the computers in the shop and injured one of the attendants.
Just two weeks ago, a security guard was shot dead when four robbers stopped the vehicle he was guarding and stole Rp 400 million.
Sigit said police have managed to identify areas where armed robbers commit their crimes, and also where they hide out.
"Often, they will commit crimes at traffic lights. But we have identified certain areas where they operate and hide," he said.
Police have marked several areas in East Jakarta, Bekasi, Depok, and North Jakarta as vulnerable places and deployed more undercover police there.
On Tuesday, police managed to capture six members of an armed criminal network known as the Demak group, and were in the process of chasing down members of several other groups including the Banten, Palembang and Indramayu groups.
With ever increasing numbers of illegal guns circulating in Jakarta, little has been done to crack down on illegal firearms dealers who sell weapons to such criminals, and are indications that several organized groups are involved in the trade.
"It is impossible for us to conduct raids as we lack personnel. All we can do is to tighten the monitoring of legal guns so as to ensure they are used properly," said Sigit.
The recent confiscation of 534 guns smuggled from Taiwan by a company partly explains why criminals can get guns so easily in Jakarta. It has been estimated that there are 100,000 illegal firearms in circulation.