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TNI’s Medan crime patrols unlawful, activists say
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Police officers order alleged motorcycle thieves, mostly in their teens, to reenact how they allegedly stole motorbikes at the North Sumatra police headquarters in this undated file photo. (Antara/Irsan Mulyadi)
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ctivists say an Indonesian Military (TNI) command in North Sumatra has violated the law by launching patrols in Medan to help the police hunt down criminals.
The Bukit Barisan Military Command, which oversees the defense of North Sumatra and three neighboring provinces, deployed a special team last week to patrol Medan for violent robbers and members of motorcycle gangs. It has refused to disclose the number of personnel in the operation.
Bukit Barisan intelligence detachment commander Lt. Col. Jontra Gultom said on Saturday that the TNI was seeking to protect citizens from robberies in the city.
"We have deployed personnel to assist the Medan Police in hunting down robbers after Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution called on [the police to take stern action against the perpetrators]," Jontra said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
He added that the regional leadership communication forum (Forkopimda), consisting of representatives of key branches of local government, had also requested the patrols.
Medan has seen increasing reports of street and violent robberies in recent months.
In June, a street robbery led to the death of Insanul Anshori Hasibuan, a student at North Sumatra Muhammadiyah University, who died of machete injuries he sustained in the incident. He had been on his way to buy food.
