JakartaPost/Tempo-May 25, 2026
The decision from the Jakarta Police to intensify crackdown on begal (violent street robbers) by creating a military-backed special team to hunt down suspected offenders has raised concerns of inflicting rights violations and extrajudicial killings. In a press briefing on Friday, Jakarta Police’s general crimes director Sr. Comr. Iman Imanuddin said that there had been 173 people suspected and arrested for street crimes across Greater Jakarta since early May. Two suspects were shot in the leg for allegedly carrying firearms and resisting police arrest during a crackdown in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta. “For some suspects who resisted and attempted to flee, we took a tough and measured action,” Iman said, describing such an action as a last resort. The spree of arrests came as the Jakarta Police formed on May 15 the so-called Tim Pemburu Begal, a 24-hour patrolling team tasked with hunting down street robbers and is supported by soldiers from the Jakarta Military Command (Kodam Jaya). Kodam Jaya spokesperson Lt. Col. Noor Iskak said in Friday’s briefing that the military had been deploying its combat battalion to assist the crackdown. He added that the joint patrol was launched by involving personnel from different levels of military commands. “The presence of authorities among the public is intended to provide a sense of security and to demonstrate the state’s presence in protecting its citizens,” Noor said. The intensified crackdown on begal has been met with a chorus of support from lawmakers, including NasDem Party lawmaker Ahmad Sahroni who asked the police to shoot offenders on sight without any tolerance, Tempo.co reported on Monday. However, Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai slammed the shooting instruction, saying that it could open the door for extrajudicial killings instead of solving the entrenched problem of street crimes in the city. Read more at:
