Security system by, for the people
Security system by, for the people
By K. Basrie
JAKARTA (JP): It's midnight of May 31 at a two by two meter
structure. That night three residents were assigned by the head
of the neighborhood to guard their "zone" where around 80
families live.
The neighborhood, called RT IV area, is part of the Bumi
Kelapa Dua housing complex in Curug, Tangerang, less than five
kilometers from the Lippo Karawaci mega project.
Each armed with a knife, iron bar and wooden stick, the three
citizens on patrol, locally known as Siskamling personnel,
started to carry out their social obligation. Normally, hot
coffee and snacks is taken with them on their rounds to help keep
them awake.
The security shack, built with funds donated by members of the
neighborhood, is located at a point which enables the on-duty
civilians to easily monitor any strangers approaching their zone.
Each take turns to patrol the neighborhood and hit lampposts
with the small iron stick they carry every hour to announce to
residents that all is well.
This particular night, the on-duty civilians each came from
different professions: a physician, a worker of a private firm
and a reporter (The Jakarta Post). We were all next door
neighbors.
At 3:00 a.m., the physician began to fall asleep and took a
brief nap on the small hut's cement floor which he covered with
papers. An hour later, I did my last turn patrolling the
neighborhood before lying down at the front door of the security
shack.
Hoping to starve off heavy drowsiness, the other partner
started conversing with me before we returned to our houses
precisely at 4 a.m., after five hours of night patrols.
The head of each family in the neighborhood is required to go
on security duty three times a month.
The RT IV neighborhood in Tangerang is a typical example of
local residents, irrespective of social status, being asked to
jointly see to the security of their own area.
Methods might be different in other neighborhoods in Greater
Jakarta, depending on many reasons, such as the average social
position of the residents and the location of the area.
Unlike many neighborhoods on the city's outskirts, a wide
number of areas in Jakarta have hired two or three people to
replace the family head's turn to secure their neighborhoods.
Police, who held a nationwide parade of heads of Siskamling
yesterday, revealed that the neighborhood security system carried
out by local residents is important in helping to maintain the
country's strong national stability.
"They are very important for us to keep the city secure," City
Police Chief Maj. Gen. Dibyo Widodo told reporters after leading
the Siskamling parade in North Jakarta yesterday.
"Whether hiring other people or using local residents, it
doesn't make any difference as long as all of the neighbors
agree," City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Harmoko said.
Moreover, he said, Jakarta is a metropolitan city where many
of its residents spend much of their time working. Problems
usually occur when people of mixed social standing and
educational backgrounds reside in one neighborhood.
"It's nonsense if a businessman or an officer, for instance,
has to go on night patrols when they have to go to work early the
next morning," said the head of a neighborhood in South Jakarta.
City police spokesman Bambang added: "It would be more logical
if we could hire people to safeguard our village rather than to
force residents who have more important things to do."
But all residents have to have a sense of belonging and
responsibility in their area. "So, hiring watchmen doesn't mean
that we have nothing more to do with our area," said the
spokesman after the parade.
Similar Siskamling parades were also held in all parts of
Greater Jakarta as well as all cities throughout the country.
In his written speech, National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman
Astrosemitro hailed the positive role of the Siskamling
personnel.
Banurusman, however, also spoke about the negative side of
globalization which might lead to a significant increase in the
number and sophistication of crimes.