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Police offer assistance to increase bus security
In response to a series of alleged incidents of sexual harassment on TransJakarta buses, the Jakarta Police are planning to evaluate existing security standards on the city’s iconic public transportation network
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n response to a series of alleged incidents of sexual harassment on TransJakarta buses, the Jakarta Police are planning to evaluate existing security standards on the city’s iconic public transportation network.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said the police would meet with representatives from the TransJakarta management, the city’s transportation agency and the Public Order Agency to discuss the issue.
“We will discuss what is wrong with the existing security procedures applied in TransJakarta,”
Boy told reporters Wednesday.
“But so far, we are still undecided about the schedule [of the joint meeting].”
Boy said the police would cooperate in maintaining security on the busway if the meeting deemed it necessary.
“If necessary, we can deploy our officers to TransJakarta buses or shelters in order to back up their daily operations.”
On Tuesday, a 19-year-old university student reported a man, identified as Noor Adhim, 39, to the Central Jakarta Police for groping her on a TransJakarta bus on Corridor 2 connecting Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta and Harmoni in Central Jakarta.
The police arrested Noor and named him a suspect the next day.
A similar incident occurred June 5, when a female passenger reported a man to the South Jakarta Police for alleged sexual harassment in a TransJakarta bus on Corridor 1 connecting Blok M in South Jakarta and Kota in West Jakarta.
However, the police dropped the case because the woman could not provide a witness to confirm her report.
A month later, a different woman said she was planning to report to the police a man who allegedly squeezed one of her breasts on a TransJakarta bus on Corridor 1.
The woman later chose not to report the 59-year-old man after he apologized to the woman.
The TransJakarta service has been operating since Jan. 15, 2004, when 54 buses served the 12.9-kilometer Blok M-Kota corridor. It now employs 1,400 staff and operates eight corridors, and there are two more corridors in the wings.
In response to the sexual harassments, police have repeatedly urged the TransJakarta management to install CCTV cameras in their buses and shelters.
“With no hard evidence, it is very difficult for the police to follow up reports from [molesta-tion] victims, especially when the case is more than 24 hours old,” Boy said.
However, instead of acting on the police’s recommendation, the management chose to launch last month separate boarding doors and queues for male and female passengers in bus shelters. The campaign has proven difficult to implement.
Gunardjo, a control manager at the TransJakarta Management Body, said he welcomed the police’s initiative to evaluate the busway security standards.
“Usually, we only cooperate in clearing the exclusive lanes, but if they want to help us with safety matters, we welcome it,” he said.
