The newly inaugurated head of the Public Order Agency, Effendi Anas, promised to emphasize a communicative approach when deploying officers to uphold order.
"We will build better communication with those who will be affected by the orders," Effendi said Friday after the inauguration ceremony at the National Monument park in Central Jakarta.
He said that before upholding bylaws, officers would approach deemed to violate regulations and ask them to abide by the law.
"Public order officers won't just hand out three warning letters."
He said he envisioned public order officers would be perceived as beneficial to the public instead of being targets of hostility and anger.
"I will roll out total reform by motivating the officers, evaluating standard operating procedures and ensuring professional recruitment."
Effendi replaced Harianto Badjoeri, who was suspended following a deadly clash between residents in Koja, North Jakarta, and public order officers in April, when officers were sent to dismantle illegal structures in a memorial complex dedicated to Muslim icon Mbah Priuk.
At Effendi's inauguration, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo asked the agency to take lessons from the clash, in which three public order officers were killed and more than 200 people were injured.
"Before conducting any activity, I ask *the agency* to study the possible impact of the action," he said.
He stressed the city needed public order officers to uphold bylaws.
Meanwhile, the Jakarta Police blamed the North Jakarta administration for the Koja clash, saying Mayor Bambang Sugiyono had ignored police recommendations to cancel the evictions.
Police chief Insp. Gen. Wahyono said Friday that intelligence personnel had conducted an assessment in North Jakarta prior to the incident and concluded that the eviction plan could easily trigger violence.
The mayor, however, ignored the police recommendation and went through with the eviction, he said.
"So the clash was actually not unexpected," said Wahyono.
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