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)