Jakarta – Police in Jakarta will deploy trained marksmen in a bid to combat rising crime in the Indonesian capital, a spokesman said yesterday.

"The move is show that the police are serious in fighting crime and to make people feel psychologically safe," said police spokesman Colonel Zainuri Lubis.

"Police have difficulty aiming at moving targets. There's a possibility that the bullet fired hits the criminal's head instead of his leg. So trained shooters are needed," he said.

Jakarta has seen rising crime since Indonesia was hit by the regional economic crisis in the mid-1997, which drove millions below the proverty line and out of jobs. One result of the crime wave has been a sharp escalation in civilians taking the law into their own hands.