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esponding to an increasing number of street crimes committed against foreign tourists in Medan over the past few months, the local police said they would intensify patrols and team up with relevant institutions to ensure their safety.

Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Mardiaz Kusin Dwihananto admitted that the limited number of police personnel had made it impossible for law enforcers to provide 24-hour security for tourists in the capital city of the North Sumatra province.

Cooperation with local government agencies, he added, would become an alternative solution to increase tourists'€™ awareness of the danger of street crimes in the country'€™s third-largest city.

'€œI will soon invite officials from the city'€™s Tourism and Culture Agency to discuss various problems regarding foreign tourists in Medan, particularly about how to ensure their safety,'€ he told reporters on Thursday.

Medan, also known as Sumatra'€™s biggest city, is home to more than 2 million people and numerous tourist attractions. Among the popular tourist sites in the city are the centuries-old Maimun Palace, the Tjong A Fie Mansion heritage building and the famous Asam Kumbang crocodile farm.

The city has also become the main entrance for domestic and foreign tourists who want to visit other popular holiday destinations in North Sumatra, including Lake Toba, the world'€™s largest volcanic lake, and the Berastagi resort area in Karo regency.

According to data from the Medan Tourism and Culture Agency, more than 243,000 foreign tourists visited the city in 2014.

Medan used to be a relatively safe place for foreign tourists up until the past few months when a number of foreign tourists became victims of various street crimes.

On Tuesday, for example, two unidentified persons snatched a handbag belong to a French couple who were taking a walk on Jl. Imam Bonjol. The victims, identified as Nicola, 29, and Marry, 27, lost a number of valuable items, including a camera, cellular phones and money, during the incident.

'€œWe kept some ¤100 (US$112) in the handbag,'€ Marry said after reporting the incident to the Medan Police headquarters later that day.

Last month, another French couple '€” Clement Lamy, 23, and Hanny, 23 '€” also reported that their bag had been stolen when they were walking in an area near the Medan Police'€™s headquarters. The couple lost their passports, cellular phones and credit cards.

Four days before the incident, a 27-year-old British tourist named Simerendeep Khuman also became a mugging victim when a motorcyclist snatched a 15-gram gold necklace from his neck when he was walking on the street.

The latest data shows that Medan Police, which employ 49 field officers and 60 investigators, receive between 300 and 400 reports of street crimes every month.