T

he Jakarta Police defended on Friday their on-site shooting policy after their deputy chief, Brig. Gen. Sudjarno, made a controversial comment on Tuesday suggesting that police officers should shoot suspects while chasing them down to make an arrest.

Jakarta Police chief detective of general crimes Sr. Comr. Heru Pranoto said that shooting suspects to paralyze them was a last resort in attempts to apprehend suspects that might endanger the public or police officers.

'€œPolice officers can shoot suspects if the latter attacks the former first. However, officers must announce that they are about to shoot before shooting the suspects,'€ Heru said at the Jakarta Police headquarters in South Jakarta.

National Police chief decree (Perkap) No. 1/2009 on police use of force stipulates officers can only shoot suspects if it is clear that the criminals are endangering others. Officers who do shoot suspects are then required to fill out a form detailing where they shot the suspects and the reason behind it.

Heru explained that the police'€™s on-site shooting policy was especially important in an incident where officers dealt with a large number of armed robbers in Greater Jakarta. According to data from the Jakarta Police, 37 armed robbery cases were solved from August to October, indicating an increase from the 25 cases in the May-July period.

Although officers only shoot to paralyze suspects, Heru acknowledged that on-site shootings could lead to death. On Oct. 3, officers shot dead two armed robbers as they tried to evade arrest in Pondok Indah and Kebayoran Lama, both in South Jakarta.

According to Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto, most armed robberies carry homemade guns as civilians cannot own firearms according to Perkap No.4/2008 on firearm possession. Only government officials, company CEOs, lawyers, doctors, commissioners and law enforcers are allowed to own guns.

Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) data showed that there were an estimated 8,000 illegal guns in Jakarta.

Rikwanto told reporters that the Jakarta Police were continuously investigating the source of these homemade guns. In September, the Jakarta Police arrested four men trafficking homemade guns via Facebook who were based in Bekasi, West Java.

'€œWe also suspect that there are many illegal gun craftsmen in Sumedang, West Java,'€ he said.

Separately, National Police Commission (Kompolnas) member Hamidah Abdurrahman told The Jakarta Post that she completely disagreed with the on-site shooting policy because officers could accidently shoot bystanders.

'€œWe have received at least four reports in October and September about suspects being shot and injured by the police during an arrest. These reports make it seem like the police are in a hurry to finish the job, and shooting makes the process faster,'€ she said.

She explained that Perkap No. 1/2009 stipulated that police officers should use rubber bullets first to try to paralyze suspects before resorting to lethal bullets.

'€œThose who do not follow the steps laid out in the Perkap could face legal sanctions. However, unlawful shootings are often covered up by fellow police officers,'€ she said.

Hamidah said that police shootings in Indonesia had aroused international concern. She said that Amnesty International had sent several letters to the commission expressing its concerns over the number of suspects shot by the police. (fss)