After losing his laptop, Ukky January Linzky, 22, a final year student at University of Indonesia (UI), made sure to never again leave valuables inside his car.
Ukky, who studies tax administration, said three years ago someone smashed his car window and stole his laptop, while he attended Friday prayer at his campus' mosque.
"I put the laptop under the back seat, so there must be someone who watched me park the car," he told The Jakarta Post Monday.
For seconds, Ukky said he had lamented why the alarm system in his car had not worked during the incident.
"But suddenly I realized that the alarm will only work if the door, not the window, is forcefully opened."
As the number of motor vehicles continue to increase, crimes like auto theft or car burglary have been topping the city's crime list for years.
In 2008, for example, auto theft was the most common crime in Jakarta, with 1,644 cars and 8,338 motorcycles reported as stolen.
Only 1,182 of those cases could be solved by police.
The number of street crimes has also continued to increase, especially the increasingly popular break-and-run tactic to steal valuables left in parked vehicles.
Although many vehicles have been equipped with security technology, this can not effectively prevent such crimes, UI criminologist Iqrak Sulhin said.
"Criminals, especially experienced ones, always learn how to conquer technology."
Even the alarm system, which had been the most common se-curity technology in motor vehicles, was currently not completely reliable since many criminals already know how to paralyze the system, he said.
"*The criminals*, for example, can turn off the system with magnets."
"Moreover, many *alarm* systems are also sensitive to loud sounds.
"A car owner will occasionally ignore their car when its alarm beeps after a thunder clap during a heavy rain."
Considering such situations, Iqrak strongly urged car owners to be more careful when leaving their cars.
"They, for example, should avoid leaving their valuables unattended in the car or parking their vehicles in the less visible side of parking lot."
Chandra Susanto, who manages security, parking and building safety in Depok's Margo City shopping mall, agreed with Iqrak.
"All the parking operator can do is maximize security checks in the parking lot's entry and exit points.
"So we strongly urged all vehicle owners to make sure they lock their vehicles before entering the mall."
Margo City, one of the biggest malls in southern Greater Jakarta's, can accommodate 800 cars and 1,200 motorcycles in its parking lot.
- JP/Hasyim Widhiarto
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