Sexual abuse and drug cases increased in 2002, police say

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Police Headquarters recorded an increase in the number of rape and drug cases in 2002, while other crimes showed a decrease of 13.3 percent in comparison with last year's statistics.

An annual report unveiled by National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar on Monday showed that rape cases rose by 11.93 percent while drug cases by 10.18 percent in 2002.

The report, however, failed to provide the exact number of cases.

Most victims of rape cases reported to police were minors, while the culprits were mostly members of their own families or people familiar with the victims.

However, only a few rape cases were brought to court, and in even fewer cases the perpetrators were given tough sentences. Under the country's Criminal Code, convicted rapists face up to five years imprisonment.

Noted criminologist Adrianus Meliala, one of Da'i's personal advisors, said that it was difficult to explain the reason behind the increase in the number of rape cases.

"I cannot find a reasonable explanation why the incidence of rape is relatively high in the regions considered to be religious areas such as in Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, several areas in Sulawesi, and in Sumatra," Adrianus told The Jakarta Post on Monday after the media briefing.

He said that moral decadence among the people and a lack of attention from parents may have encouraged sexual abuse and rape.

Da'i also said that crimes involving firearms and offensive weapons such as knives were likely to rise next year due to the uncontrolled spread of weapons in conflict-torn areas and arms smuggling.

He also said that transnational crimes such as terrorist attacks, money laundering, sea piracy, drugs, cyber crime, and economic crime, log smuggling, and poaching would still plague the country next year.

To face those challenges, Da'i said, the police would recruit more personnel and improve police professionalism.

"Next year we will double our intake of new personnel from this year's 13,000 to 26,000. Our hope is that four years from now, we can improve the ratio of police to 1:750 from the current ratio of 1:900," said Da'i, adding that the ideal ratio was 1:300 or 1:400.

He also said that the curriculum would also change so that police cadets spend only five months in class room study. Currently, they study for at least ten months.