School security patrol may help stop brawls

JAKARTA (JP): After being halted for a year, the school security patrol, locally known by the abbreviation PKS, was relaunched by city police on Friday in a bid to lessen the number of street brawls in the capital.

The resumption of the program, whose members usually consist of students from high schools, was inaugurated by Jakarta Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Sutanto, acting on behalf of police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman.

"Based on our experience, the PKS program has helped youngsters to avoid taking part in street fights, that is, by providing them with positive activities in their spare time," Sutanto told reporters.

The program initially aimed to teach traffic rules and discipline to both junior and senior high school students, but had in the past also proven useful in preventing street brawls.

According to Sutanto, the program was put on hold last year when many city police personnel, who used to train the PKS members, were assigned to secure political events.

"Now, the situation is less demanding, we can return to our routine activities, such as training the PKS members," Sutanto said.

Some 500 students from 26 state and private junior and senior high schools attended the ceremony. All of them have agreed to participate in the PKS program.

During the program, PKS participants would not only learn about traffic regulations but also how to help police manage traffic.

In previous years, PKS members could be seen in their white uniforms helping fellow students and disabled people cross the streets.

Each of the 500 new PKS recruits received a free uniform: a pair of pants, a shirt, a hat and other items.

In the past, students were given PKS membership cards, which could be used in place of a driver's license as identification.

When asked about other measures the Jakarta Police would use to stop the mushrooming number of student brawls here, Sutanto said his men had conducted a series of raids to confiscate sharp weapons at schools and several places notorious for street brawls.

In organizing the PKS, the police is working with the city administration and the regional office of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

This month alone six students have lost their lives in street brawls.

On Thursday, a school boy died in Central Jakarta after he fell from a bus full of students when it was attacked by a group of students from a different school. (03)