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City police plan to boost patrols for the Ramadan holiday to crack down on illegal fireworks and street races.

Fireworks are often used to mark the start of the fasting days, and are set off throughout the holiday month.

“Officers will take stern action on firecracker sellers in the fasting month,” said the Jakarta Police spokesman, Adjutant Chief Comr. Chrysnanda Dwi Laksana.

He said police would increase patrols and trace the contraband back to its source at production sites. He warned that fireworks posed serious dangers and could cause injuries or start fires.

Rian, 26, a resident of Tanjung Barat in South Jakarta, said constant noise from firecrackers during the fasting month were a nuisance. “Ramadan is for praying, and my prayers are disturbed by such noise,” he said.

Chrysnanda said police would also curb illegal street races during Ramadan. Police traffic director, Chief Comr. Condro Kirono, said police would monitor places known to host such events. “We organize a raid every week for illegal races and the raids will continue during Ramadan,” he said.

Deddy, 32, a resident of Sunter in North Jakarta, hoped to see stronger action by the police.

“I saw raids, but not long after that, street races came back again,” he said. “People, particularly during Ramadan, need to rest.”

The country’s second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, has already announced that fasting would begin on Saturday. The country’s largest, Nahdlatul Ulama, stated on its Web site it planned to make its decision on Friday.