Apparently taking a page from Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war playbook, the chief of the Central Java Police, General Condro Kirono, has responded to a rising number of robbery cases in his jurisdiction by ordering his officers to shoot thieves “on sight”.
“People should be given a sense of security in carrying out their activities in the evenings,” Condro said in Semarang on Tuesday as quoted by state news agency Antara.
In addition to providing a sense of security to citizens, Condro said the policy would also limit the movement of criminals.
The media has reported a steep rise in robberies in the region, with a particularly bold robber shot by officers near the Central Java Police Headquarters.
In addition, two robbers were also reportedly killed after falling off a cliff while trying to escape an angry mob in the Rowosari district of Tembalang, Semarang.
Despite Indonesia’s hardline stance on drugs, it at least has not adopted Duterte’s bloody tactics that are estimated to have led to over 3,000 extrajudicial killings since he took office. Any shoot-on-site policy has a high likelihood of being misused by police and a mistake made with a bullet is very hard to undo.
