Yogyakarta, April 27th 2022─The klitih case (now called street crime) is back again in Yogyakarta. The number of victims who spoke up made this phenomenon widely discussed, especially when it was revealed that the perpetrators are youngsters, most of whom are still in school. As a study center that focuses on youth issues, the Youth Study Center (YouSure) in collaboration with FISIPOL UGM conducts research as well as community services to help solve the phenomenon of street crime. This step began with a webinar titled “Seeking Alternatives for Handling Youth-Friendly Street Crimes” on Wednesday (27/4).
In his opening remarks, Wawan Mas’udi, the Dean of FISIPOL UGM said that FISIPOL UGM is always ready and open to taking part in joint efforts to deal with the problem of street crime. Not only through downstream, but also upstream approaches. This commitment is shown through presentations from various groups, ranging from the government, law enforcement officers, community practitioners, to academics in this webinar hosted by Eka Zuni Lusi Astuti as the Executive Director of YouSure.
As stated by Asep Suhenda, the Head of DI Yogyakarta Regional Police Force, in his material, “The success of street crime prevention is also contingent on the extent of the participation and active role of the community, that is, the participation of each party. Given that the Police may not be able to work alone, we need synergistic cooperation between all of us, all elements of society.”
This message was further elaborated by the other two sources. Heroe Poerwadi as the Deputy Mayor of Yogyakarta explained further the steps that have been taken by the government, including cooperating with other elements of society such as educational institutions. On the other hand, the presence of the community, in this context Jogja Gelut, is also important as it can be a forum for self-actualization to reduce and break the chain of regeneration of perpetrators or potential perpetrators of street violence, as described by Arawinda.
Uniquely, Oki Rahadianto Sutopo as the Director of YouSure provides quite a different point of view by trying to understand the phenomenon of street crime from the perspective of the youth themselves. With this perspective, hopefully, social policies that are more sensitive to youth, especially those who are marginalized and become perpetrators of street crimes, can be reformulated.
Despite all the approaches to solving the street crime phenomenon, there is still one important task that should not be forgotten. “All actors need should not forget the root cause of street crimes,” said Lusi closing the webinar which can be watched again through FISPOL UGM’s Youtube channel (/hfz)