Some people see Jakarta as unsafe: Wiranto
Some people see Jakarta as unsafe: Wiranto
JAKARTA (JP): City Military Commander Maj. Gen. Wiranto says that it is impossible to make Jakarta's crime rate zero, acknowledging some people's belief that Jakarta is not safe.
In a city with almost 10 million people of different classes, professions and interests, no institution can totally eliminate crime, he added.
Crimes occur spontaneously making them difficult for law enforcers to anticipate, he said, after attending the commemoration of the 46th anniversary of the City Military Command yesterday.
Yardsticks are required to measure whether or not Jakarta is a safe city, Wiranto said, adding that people's feelings are relative.
"The City Military Command will focus on ridding Jakarta of organized crime which can be detected and anticipated," the two- star general said.
The military is aware of organized crime activities in the city and has taken action, Wiranto said. He declined to go into detail.
Demonstrations by motorbike troops, 20 professional artists, and a drama on discipline involving many students enlivened the anniversary ceremony.
The motorbike troops demonstrated their ability to handle a bank robbery, showing that they could move quickly to the scene of the crime and pass any barrier to arrest the robbers. The demonstration was open to the public.
"It is not a show of force. We only want people to know that military personnel have the skill to deal with crime," Wiranto said.
He stressed the military's promise to back up the police in their fight against crime. City military and police will continue anti-crime operations which have proven effective in pushing down crime rates.
The ongoing Operasi Sapu Bersih and Operasi Kilat Jaya, anti- crime operations have lowered crime rates in the capital 13 percent over the past six months, he said.
Police records indicate that 1,844 crimes were committed in June and 1,761 in July. In August 1,707 cases were recorded. By September the number dropped to 1,687. In October and November there were 1,645 and 1,602 cases respectively.
Army Chief Gen. Hartono who officiated at the ceremony said that the City Military Command has shown its ability to keep the capital safe as well as keep regional stability.
However, he urged that city military personnel must increase their professionalism since they will face more difficult challenges in the future. Because of the high density and diversity of the population, social problems in the city military territory have become more complicated than other regions in the country, he said.
The City Military Command has sponsored the discipline campaign in the capital by deploying 4,000 personnel. It also has mobilized 25,000 youths from many organizations to help military and city officials enforce public discipline.
The enforcers remind the public to observe the basic elements of discipline including depositing litter in the proper place, queuing, obeying traffic signs and maintaining working hours.
The military plans to increase the number of discipline enforcers to 400,000 so that public discipline in the city will become a reality.(29)