Police in Bali have pinpointed ten churches in the island’s capital city of Denpasar to amp up security at during the upcoming Christmas holiday.
The churches have been selected as needing extra police attention because of their vulnerability to traffic jams, motor vehicle theft, theft by force, and terror attacks, police say. See the full list of churches here.
Denpasar Police Superintendent I Nyoman Artana says the ten churches are expected to have congregations of more than 1,000 for Christmas services.
Bali Police’s Mobile Brigade will do a sweep prior to Christmas, while each of the 10 churches will have a security post set up, Artana said, further explaining the extra security measures.
Even though the 10 churches are getting heavy security, other churches will be looked out after; Denpasar Police will deploy around 1,200 police personnel to secure a total of 100 churches throughout the city, according to Tribun Bali.
Police are collaborating with pecalang (traditional Balinese neighborhood security), the civil service police unit, mass organizations, and administrators from each church.
“It’s all aimed at anticipating and raising awareness about security issues. I ask the entire community to keep a cooperative environment and uphold religious tolerance,” Artana said on Monday.
While Bali is a predominantly Hindu island, about 2.5 percent of the province’s population identified as Christian or Catholic in a 2010 census, with the largest numbers of Christians and Catholics living in Denpasar, out of Bali’s nine regencies.
It’s typical for police to raise up security in Bali during major religious holidays in the Hindu, Islamic, and Christian faiths, alike.
