By Niken Prathivi

Dyah Pratitasari, 27, a housewife and a writer about holistic health, shared her story about how her car and home appliances were stolen from right under her nose.

'I'm sure it happened at around 3.30 a.m. in the morning, on Aug. 18.

'It happened quite fast, it was like the thieves had studied my home area,' Dyah started her story.
The mother of one further said that around a week prior to the burglary, her husband was often starting the day early.

'A week before the robbery, a taxi requested to pickup my husband. So, when my neighbor heard a cracking sound from my housing complex gate during the time of the crime, he thought it was my husband,' said Dyah, adding that all her family members were fast asleep and didn't notice a sound.

Dyah described her housing complex as a particular area within a kampung in a verdant Jagakarsa sub-district of South Jakarta. The complex comprises of five new homes, which were built in 2007.

'It was quite shocking as we had put our alarm on in our Avanza minivan, and the carport was also fenced. The thieves must have been trained, or professional,' she said, adding that her housing complex was located not far from Jagakarsa Police office.

After realizing the robbery, Dyah directly made an official report to Jagakarsa Police officers.

'Until now, we have never received good news from the police. Alhamdulillah [praise to God], the car was insured so the losses were covered.'

Dyah further said that several weeks prior to her car being stolen, three neighbors also had their motorcycle, television and air conditioner units robbed.

Various complaints about street crimes were also posted on the official South Jakarta Police website, www.jaksel.metro.polri.go.id, although they were mostly neglected.

However, this did not stop residents from reporting their misfortunes on the website.

A recent report on the theft of car rearview mirrors was submitted by Dolli Gunawan on Thursday (Oct. 16). The victim, Dolli, said that on Sept. 24, he had his rearview mirror stolen while his car was parked on Jl. Iskandarsyah, at around 2 p.m.

Dolli further said that Jl. Iskandarsyah is located around one kilometer from the South Jakarta Police headquarters.

'Considering that the location of the crime scene is pretty close to the South Jakarta Police headquarters, I really hope that Bapak Kapolres [district police chiefs] and your remaining officers can provide extra supervision in the area,' wrote Dolli.

Devita Anggi, another resident, reported on Aug. 19 that she had just been pick-pocketed on a bus ride from Kampung Rambutan, East Jakarta, to Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

Devita said that four men pressed their bodies against her as she got off the bus, at ITC Permata Hijau, South Jakarta. Within seconds, Devita found her wallet was gone.

Despite the poor response to crime reports from the police, Ezra, former Pasar Rebo resident, found other people's generosity was a saving grace in such situations.

She told The Jakarta Post that she once experienced a holdup at Fatmawati intersection.

She was waiting for a bus at 8 p.m. at the sideway of the intersection when three men appeared and harshly demanded she hand over her wallet, cellular phone and jewelry.

'Thank God, two taxi drivers came along to help,' she said.

She also said that everyone should be careful on the intersection as it was a regular crime spot.