The war against crime

Enough is enough. Badgered by a citizenry sick and tired of the administration's apparent inability to protect it against a crime rate that is rising in both level and brutality, Jakarta's city administration has apparently lost its patience and last week officially declared war against criminals.

"The concept is easy. Let's fight hoodlums together. That's it," Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso declared. Sutiyoso, who is a former Jakarta military commander, said the city police, the Jakarta Military Command and city administration would help the general public eradicate thuggery. This initiative would target the area around traditional markets, nightspots and other areas in the city where thugs normally operate, such as busy crossroads, traffic lights along busy streets and bus and railway stations.

Among the city's traditional markets and shopping areas controlled by thugs, the most notable are Tanah Abang, Senen and Pasar Baru in Central Jakarta; Blok M and Kebayoran Lama in South Jakarta; Kramat Jati and Jatinegara in East Jakarta, and Glodok in West Jakarta.

The city's five mayoralties, though -- Central, North, West, East and South Jakarta respectively -- have reportedly already taken stock of most of the places where thugs normally hang out. These include 14 spots in Central Jakarta, 10 in North Jakarta, 15 in West Jakarta, 12 in East Jakarta and 12 in South Jakarta.

To show that this time around the authorities mean business, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaeman made it known that at least 800 police officers, assisted by some 1,900 civilian police assistants, known as Banpol, would be deployed in a special operation against hoodlums.

After recently organizing raids against thugs at crossroads and near traffic lights, the police are apparently planning to focus their attention on specified markets, where they will be operating in small groups. Mulyono warns that stern action will be taken against thugs, and officers will be licensed to shoot any of them who resist arrest "in self-defense".

Though declining to reveal when the operation would start, Sutiyoso promised it would be launched "soon". The exact date, he said, was being held secret in case the thugs simply shift their operation elsewhere. This time, too, Governor Sutiyoso assured citizens, the "war" against thugs and bandits will be waged continuously until the city is free of thugs.

In all fairness it must be admitted that all this is progress compared with the apparent official lethargy of past years. And nobody can deny that it is high time that some drastic action against thuggery is taken. Hardly a day goes by without a newspaper report mentioning the killing of some taxi or ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver.

Motorists are living in constant fear of being assaulted when forced to stop at traffic lights at busy road intersections. Drivers at night must be continually aware of the danger of nails (to puncture tires) planted by hoodlums on the roads along which they are traveling.

Everything Governor Sutiyoso and other city authorities have said about fighting thugs in Jakarta is relevant and true. So why then the utter cynicism with which the public has greeted their announcement? The reason, of course, is Jakartans have heard it all before. Still, although this time Jakarta's citizens are guarded in their reaction to this news, they are hopeful that the authorities will succeed at this attempt.

There is one danger, though, that this kind of situation brings: a failure on the part of City Hall in its efforts this time and to lose the "war" against crime could mean a serious setback in the government's efforts to restore the public's confidence in the law and its enforcement apparatus.

This is a risk that the authorities would do well not to overlook. After all, the crime that is regularly committed in Indonesia is for a good part the legacy of past times when thuggery and violence were commonly used to guard the interests of people with power. To be successful, waging a war against individual criminals or even gangs is not enough. To a greater or lesser degree, thuggery will always be with us as long as there are people who seek to achieve their aims by extralegal means, and this includes the use of intimidation, force or violence.