| Subject: AFP: Return
of petty crime heartens police in ruined East Timor capital
Return of petty crime heartens police in ruined East Timor capital Ian Timberlake DILI, East Timor, Nov 29 The first case of shoplifting in this destroyed city since the territory was ravaged by militia-led terror brought a smile to Alan Castle's face. "I was almost gratified to find that we had a case of shop stealing, which means that society is gradually returning to normal," said Castle who on Sunday finished his term as commander of the UN civilian police, Dili station. When Castle first arrived with one other police officer and the first Australian troops on September 20, this city was still burning. There were no shops and almost no people. One of his first jobs was to work with peacekeeping troops to figure out what to do with 15 decomposing bodies. Now the two-man police detachment has grown to a multinational contingent of almost 70 officers who are starting to deal with more normal policing matters -- with a Timor twist. "You find with anything here, that you go to do something comparatively simple and it ends up complicated," he said in an interview with AFP. Even the shoplifting case pointed to the peculiarities of policing in a city with no real jail and no judiciary. Buildings are still burned out here, but commerce is booming in little tin and wood shacks that sell soap, sandals, cigarettes, vegetables and other essentials along the city's roads. From one of these shops, teenagers stole a large amount of cigarettes. Castle's officers found a suspect but had nowhere to lock him up. "We have got no facilities to take juveniles into custody," he said. So the officers relied on "using some bluff and talking to people." Castle said the shopkeeper wanted the thief to pay her two million rupiah (286 dollars.) The teenager offered to hand over 400,000 rupiah. "We had to do a bit of negotiations and essentially point out to her that she is probably better off accepting the amount they were offering because there was not much alternative." Castle said the civilian police did not have their own jail but held suspects of serious crimes -- murder, severe assault or rape -- in a jail run by troops of the International Force For East Timor. "We are taking particulars of smaller matters and we will deal with it by way of summons or something like that once the judicial system gets going," he said, adding he believed that could happen as early as before Christmas. On Saturday, Sergio Vieira de Mello, head of the UN transitional administration in East Timor, signed a regulation establishing Indonesian laws as the current standard for the territory. "We will basically at this stage be enforcing Indonesian laws but only those parts of Indonesian law, which are acceptable from a human rights point of view," said Castle, 56, who is returning to his job with the Australian Federal Police. The last Indonesian troops withdrew from East Timor in October, after a militia campaign of murder, arson, rape and forced deportation that followed the August 30 ballot in which the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for freedom. Castle's officers are still dealing with the legacy of the weeks of violence. "Many times citizens have become riled at the presence of alleged militias among the population, the police have tried to educate them that militia membership doesn't necessarily make them a criminal," he said. However, he also expressed surprise "at the lack of revenge that has been taken on people." Castle said "the bane of our life at the moment" is stolen vehicles, either Indonesian vehicles claimed by former government officials or those taken by force by fleeing Indonesian soldiers and police. Castles said similar disputes are developing over property. "Probably about 50 percent of the people who are living in this town at the moment are not living in their own homes. That is because a lot of the people have had their own homes trashed by the militias," Castle said. "It has been a very interesting time. It has been an experience I would not have exchanged." Back to November Menu Note: For those who would like to fax "the powers that be" - CallCenter V3.5.8, is a Native 32-bit Voice Telephony software application integrated with fax and data communications... and it's free of charge! Download from http://www.v3inc.com/ |