Vaudine England – The latest campaign by police in the capital to wipe out crime – dubbed Operation Great Elimination – has been hailed a resounding success, with 23 mostly petty criminals shot dead in the past month.
Residents, far from being shocked at the gunning down of possibly innocent people without trial, are applauding the effort.
Jakarta city police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam said the killings had been forced on police because the criminals had resisted arrest. He said the operation was aimed at cracking down on crimes committed on public transport. "We want to wipe out all criminals," he said. "That is why we call it Operation Great Elimination."
Human rights experts and analysts said the killings were likely to enhance the police's reputation among the public. "Some parts of the population may be happy with the police taking action, even if it involves killings like this," said Asmara Nababan, of the National Human Rights Commission. "It's really just the way the police do their job, without any accountability. Such campaigns have happened many times and there has never been any independent follow-up to clarify such incidents or accidents. We have no actual accountability mechanism to verify that their actions are in accordance with the law."
Vigilantism and neighbourhood lynchings have been on the increase since the breakdown in law and order that accompanied the political and economic crises of 1997-98. Cases abound in which local communities have taken the law into their own hands and beaten or burned suspected thieves to death.
Often, the lynching parties say they do not want to hand suspects over to the police as they fear they would bribe the arresting officers and be let free. In this context, the claim that police are now taking direct action against criminals could be regarded as a positive improvement, several analysts agree.
"This is not something I would advocate of course. But I can understand why it happens and why local populations are not going to be too upset about it," said Robert Lowry, author of a report on the need for police reform for the think-tank International Crisis Group.
He recalled a recent incident in which a community had caught a motorcycle thief and forced a passing policeman to shoot the suspect on the spot. "No Jakarta residents are going to be very upset about this latest operation because there is no functioning legal system," Mr Lowry said. He noted a rise in blue-collar crime, over-crowded jails and long-standing underfunding of the police force.
About 200,000 police officers are expected to fight crime, communal violence and separatist movements across a country of more than 200 million people. Official salaries are less than HK$10 a day.
One expert in police training said attempts to improve the credibility of the police required police to garner the support of the community. Paradoxically, the killing of 23 suspects might help garner local support, forcing the conclusion, the expert said, that populations get the police forces they deserve.
"What is clear is the message that poor criminals without political connections can be shot on sight, whereas the rich and well-connected, like Tommy Suharto, don't even get caught," another police reform expert said.
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, youngest son of former president Suharto, had his conviction and 18-month sentence for corruption overturned this week in what observers say was a blatant perversion of justice. Police have failed to find the former playboy since November, although Suharto family friends maintain he lives comfortably in Jakarta.