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Surveillance system efficiency questioned after May 22 riots
Many have praised Jakarta’s surveillance system of more than 7,600 CCTV units, which captured the distribution of money from an ambulance during the May 21-22 riots following the announcement of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s reelection
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span>Many have praised Jakarta’s surveillance system of more than 7,600 CCTV units, which captured the distribution of money from an ambulance during the May 21-22 riots following the announcement of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s reelection. However, the Indonesian Ombudsman has criticized the lack of system integration with police operations for security and rescue efficiency.
During its impromptu visit to the Jakarta Police’s regional traffic management center on Saturday, Indonesian Ombudsman commissioner Adrianus Meliala urged the police and Jakarta administration to create an automated integrated surveillance system to improve security and rescue efficiency.
Adrianus made the recommendation after witnessing that the police and the administration had been sharing CCTV footage in “informal” ways, as officers were required to obtain permission from the city to transmit the city-owned CCTVs to their security control room.
He also referred to a statement given by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan recently that concerned the CCTVs after deadly riots the capital last month.
Anies gave police permission on June 3 to check city-owned CCTVs for their investigation into the riots.
“Please, [the police] can [check the CCTV videos],” said Anies at the time. The city’s cameras happened to have recorded some incidents during the riots, namely when people in an ambulance marked with the Gerindra Party logo allegedly distributed money and transported rioters in Gondangdia, Central Jakarta.
After the riots, the police also seized a Gerindra ambulance found loaded with rocks instead of medical equipment. Gerindra is the party of Jokowi’s challenger, Prabowo Subianto.
The governor’s statement, Adrianus said, had indicated that the CCTV cameras operated by the city were not connected to the police’s regional traffic management center.
“This is not funny. Aren’t they all [operating] in the same city? ” he told The Jakarta Post after visiting the traffic management center, where seven personnel were monitoring around 3,000 CCTVs in the control room.
According to the Jakarta Communications and Information Technology Agency, the city operates 7,685 CCTVs. Tower companies, such as telecommunications infrastructure company PT Bali Towerindo Sentra, contribute most of the CCTVs operated by the city. All of them are accessible to the public on the Jakarta Smart City website.
At least 6,000 CCTVs were installed during the administration of Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. Some city agencies, such as water resources agency and transportation agency, operate their CCTVs independently.
Head of the communications and information technology agency, Atika Nur Rahmania, embraced the recommendation delivered by the Indonesian Ombudsman, as it was in line with the administration’s ambition to make Jakarta a “smart city”.
The city, she went on to say, had integrated its surveillance system not only with the Jakarta Smart City website but also with other government institutions, including the Jakarta Police, the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Executive Office of the President.
“The CCTVs are not only connected to the website but are also integrated with the operations of those institutions,” Atika told the Post.
She added that the agency had not met with the Indonesian Ombudsman to discuss the recommendation it delivered about the automated integrated surveillance system.
“Certainly, this matter has our attention, especially because one of the elements to establish a smart city is safety and security,” Atika said. (das)
