Guessing The Cause Of Rampant Bicycle Begaly

Illustration (Angga Nugraha / VOI)

JAKARTA - Bicycle robbery is increasingly happening. Recently, a member of the Indonesian Air Force (AU) Colonel Adm Ridwan Gultom was the victim. He was gagged and fell off his bicycle until he was unconscious. The perpetrator seized his property.

The police are still investigating the case. The investigation team is still looking for information from witnesses who were at the scene to reveal the case that occurred on Saturday, November 14 last.

"There are witnesses being questioned at the TKP but we are still gathering them," said Head of Public Relations at Polda Metro Jaya Kombe Yusri Yunus, Sunday, November 15.

Investigators are also still looking for CCTV cameras around the location, Jalan Boulevard Bintaro Jaya, Perigi Lama Village, Pondok Aren District, South Tangerang.

"(The location of the incident) was opened. There are no buildings, so we will check everything," he said.

The Cyclist Begal phenomenon

The occurrence of this case has increased the number of crimes that befell cyclists. Previously, TNI officer Colonel Pangestu Widiatmoko was also a victim of bicycle robbery on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, Monday, October 26.

This bicycle begalith has an impact on people's concerns when cycling. In fact, the purpose of cycling is to exercise and maintain a healthy body condition and not prone to disease.

Criminologist from the University of Indonesia, Ferdinand Andi Lolo, argues that there are rampant thuggery against cyclists because they are considered to have a lower risk for the perpetrators.

"Cyclists are a relatively easy target," he said

Context is easier, said Ferdinand, because the cyclists do not have the opportunity to fight when the perpetrators act.

Reflecting on several cases of bicycle robbers, the perpetrators who use motorbikes while acting and make it easier for the perpetrators to act.

"Resistance is lower, because the speed of the bike is not commensurate with a motorcycle, and the victim is distracted to maintain balance during the attack," he said.

Later, it was thought that criminals had begun to switch to targeting cyclists. However, Ferdinand did not agree with this assumption because there was no such data.

But, he continued, most likely, the rampant crime of this crime is because the cyclist population is increasing rapidly and is considered to have less risk.

"There is no data that shows they (the perpetrators) changed their modus operandi," he said.

"But what is clear is that bicycle rags are becoming rampant because the population of bicycles on the roads has increased sharply and the users come from more diverse social strata," he continued.

Illustration (PIxabay)

Cyclist Error

On the other hand, the rampant crime of bicycle robbery is also driven by mistakes of cyclists. One example is the habit of putting valuables carelessly.

The Bintaro Loop Bicycle Community Advisor, Robertus Bougie Hartono, is of the view that riders usually put their valuables in places that are easily taken by others. This is what opens the opportunity for criminals to act.

"The thugs observed that cyclists often put their valuables in a shirt pocket which was easy to steal when the cyclist was careless and the risk tends to be lower than stealing a motorized vehicle," he explained.

Then, another driving factor is the large amount of video content that shows the price of bicycles which are quite expensive. This also causes the perpetrators to prefer to target cyclists as victims.

"There is a lot of coverage and exposure on social media such as YouTube and Instagram about the high price of bicycles, so that the general public sees that cyclists must be the middle and upper class," he said.