Jenny Grant, Jakarta – A war between police and criminals is escalating in Jakarta following the killing of a mobile-brigade policeman last week.
Police and the military have launched a joint hunt for the killer of 27-year-old First Sergeant Winoto.
Winoto was shot twice in the stomach and suffered machete wounds on Friday in West Jakarta while he was accompanying a gold delivery.
Police from each region of Jakarta have set up a taskforce to find the killer.
In North Jakarta 246 police and military officers are searching nightclubs, known meeting places for criminals.
Since Sunday, 212 suspects have been arrested.
Winoto is the second Jakarta police officer to be killed this year.
Meanwhile, killings by police of more than 70 alleged criminals this year have passed almost unnoticed.
The Sinar weekly magazine reported that 110 suspected criminals had been shot dead in Greater Jakarta between January and April this year. In 1996 only 89 suspects were killed by police.
The alleged car thieves, thugs and vandals are usually shot in the back when fleeing a crime scene.
Police claim they first fire the mandatory three warning shots in the air before shooting the victims.
Authorities deny there is a formal shoot-to-kill policy.
Jakarta police chief Major General Hamami Nata has defended his officers, saying they followed procedures before shooting. But he has given carte blanche approval to any officers to shoot if they feel threatened.
"If the criminal reacts and threatens officers, just shoot," the magazine quoted the police chief as saying.
Criminologists point to widespread concern in the military about rising crime and its potential to disrupt the capital, which is home to nine million people.
Criminologist Mulyana Kusumah said the number of crimes involving firearms in Jakarta was growing.
In 1996, the number of firearms-related homicides rose to 80, from only 18 in 1985.
One police officer said criminals shot dead by police were usually multiple offenders.
"They have been in and out of jail and they keep committing crimes. We don't have any choice, if we leave them they will be a danger," the officer said.