Shootings on criminals draw mixed reactions
JAKARTA (JP): A legal expert and a criminologist had different viewpoints over police shootings of suspected criminals, which have resulted in at least 70 deaths in the first seven months of this year.
In a separate interview with The Jakarta Post yesterday, criminologist Adrianus Meliala from the University of Indonesia defended police actions while lawyer Munir from the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute dubbed the officers' effort as arrogant and brutal.
According to Meliala, the use of force and violence by police officers cannot be considered entirely brutal.
"What many people don't understand is that police officers face risks," he said.
"It's a kill-or-be-killed profession and sometimes they don't have a chance to defend themselves," said the criminologist.
That is why, he said, police have to be strict in handling criminals, because if they are not, they could end up dead.
"That's the risk they face each day," Meliala said.
On the other side of the issue, lawyer Munir described police who brutalize suspects in police custody as arrogant in achieving their so-called duty of public service.
Police have frequently used force, violence and bullets to show their arrogant authority, Munir said.
"It seems like they shoot suspects in an effort to uphold law and authority," he said.
Munir said the brutality of police indicated that they had no other option in upholding the law.
"For example, an idea from a proposed bill on police affairs states that laws cannot be separated from the use of force," he said.
"In fact, police officers are only one of the juridical instruments and the fate of suspects or defendants is not entirely in police hands," said Munir.
When asked to comment about police shootings, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang replied: "Police only shoot alleged criminals if officers are attacked or they try to escape."
He said police officers always give three warning shots in the air -- as regulations require -- before finally targeting a suspect.
The number of suspects who have been shot dead by police has not been available, but it is strongly believed 70 people were killed by July, because 63 suspects were shot dead in the first four months of the year.
In the past two days, for instance, six alleged criminals have lost their lives to police bullets.
The first five victims were shot on Wednesday.
Four suspects involved in a robbery were shot in Bekasi, after they attacked a policeman with a sharp weapon.
They were Hasan, 40, Eno, 40, Permadi, 29, and Tanali, 39.
The other one, Taufik Idham, 26, listed by police as a noted bank customer robber, was shot in Pasar Rebo in East Jakarta.
Taufik was asked by police to locate his accomplices, but then tried to flee and attacked police officers, police said.
The latest victim was a suspected vehicle thief, Subarno, 27, who was gunned down yesterday when he tried to escape police custody in Cimanggis, East Jakarta.
After being arrested, Subarno was driven to Pasar Minggu Police subprecinct in South Jakarta, where he jumped out of a police car in Cimanggis.
"After the first warning shot, police had to shoot him because he refused to surrender," said spokesman Aritonang.
Jakarta Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata recently ordered his personnel to arrest at least one suspected con man per week each.
It is unclear whether his officers literally translated his edict. (12/cst/04/bsr)