Human trafficking uncovered maximally thanks to task force: Polri
Jakarta, Indonesianpost.com – The National Police (Polri) had been successful in maximally uncovering and taking action against human trafficking cases after the establishment of the Human Trafficking Task Force, a Polri official stated here, Wednesday.
The statement was made by the Head of the Public Information Bureau at Polri’s Public Relations Division Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan.
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Polri’s Human Trafficking Task Force was formed by Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo on June 5, 2023. The task force was set up at the level of Polri headquarters to the regional police level.
The formation of the task force was a follow-up to President Joko Widodo’s directive after the president appointed Prabowo as Chief Executive of the Human Trafficking Eradication and Prevention Task Force.
“Polri’s Human Trafficking Task Force was formed on the order of the police chief to take firm action and prevention against human trafficking,” Ramadhan remarked.
Since its establishment, the task force has continued to take action and preventive steps against human trafficking in addition to conducting analysis and evaluation on a daily basis.
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Based on the analysis and evaluation from June 5 to July 24, 2023, the task force received 711 police reports, rescued 2,176 human trafficking victims, and arrested 847 perpetrators.
Ramadhan noted that based on the analysis and evaluation, the modes most frequently used were roping in illegal migrant workers to serve as domestic workers, reaching 479 cases; sex workers, 212 cases; ship crew members, nine cases; and also 54 child exploitation-related cases.
To bolster its action and prevention measures, Polri is currently developing the directorates in investigation work units, from six directorates to seven.
The new directorate, or the seventh directorate, is intended to handle crimes involving women and children as well as human trafficking.
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Ramadhan stated that Polri had sent a letter to the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry on request for the formation of an organizational structure for the new directorate at the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) of the Polri headquarters and regional police.