By IANS/AKI,
Jakarta : At least 48 police buildings and posts were set ablaze by mobs in 2011, more than double the previous year’s statistics, the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) has announced.
In 2010, 20 police buildings and posts were burnt, the IPW said in a report Tuesday.
IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said that out of the total number of incidents in 2011, 18 arson attacks took place in Batam in Riau islands.
Not only did mobs attack police stations, but also 12 police cars. Five official police residences were also damaged in 2011.
Neta, however, told the Jakarta Post that such cases happened in part because of arrogant and insensitive attitudes by police toward civilians.
“The national police chief should reprimand his men and tell them to be professional and consistently work as an integrated police force in order to prevent similar cases from happening again in the future,” the IPW said.