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In the aftermath of the high-profile terror bombings that struck Indonesia in the first decade of the 21st Century — the latest being the twin attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels  in 2009 — potential targets like hotels, shopping centers and office buildings began upgrading their security.

In Jakarta, it is now common for customers to cope with the kind of metal detectors  and x-ray devices once associated solely with airports. And in high-end malls and hotels cars get at least a cursory examination  as they enter.

The security systems vary, of course.  The most basic is the bored security guard waving a handheld metal detector or peeking into bags occasionally.  At most luxury hotels, the scanners and machines are designed to detect explosives, guns and other tools of incipient mayhem.

But does all this make Jakarta safer? Perhaps not. At a lot of checkpoints, the security is as much theater as it is threat-deflection.

Security guards can be reluctant to hold up customers and cause complaints. In many cases, checks are haphazard and sporadic, with the  bold or the self-important ignored by guards with little social status .

Hit & Miss

“Most people will understand that they need to enter this walk-through metal detector and give their bags to search without having to be asked by us,” said Rahmanto (not his real name), a security guard at a massive entertainment center in Central Jakarta. “Others won’t bother doing that and will just walk away fast. If we stop them, they often get offended and say that we are only delaying their business.

“When that happens, I can’t do much. I understand that this whole thing takes a little bit of their time and we have received complaints from visitors. Sometimes I feel that they underestimate us, and don’t appreciate what we are doing.”

Because of that, Rahmanto said, he often feels he has to be lenient when doing his job.

“Well, let’s say, that old woman over there. You will probably just let her pass through without a bag search. She is unlikely to be carrying anything dangerous,” he said.

However, he will definitely stop people who have what he feels are “suspicious looks or gestures.”

“You also have to use your intuition. When I think someone is suspicious, then I will stop the person and search their belongings,” Rahmanto said, adding that he has found knives and pistols during the searches.

 A security guard in another luxury mall, also in Central Jakarta, echoed the same sentiment.

Budi, who also did not wish to use his real name, said that he and his colleagues feel conflicted because they receive a lot of complaints from customers about the time needed for the security checks.

“On one hand, we are doing our jobs, but it is not easy to deal with complaints. People seem to look down on us. Some even scold us when we stop them to search their bags,” he said. As we talked, he let a few people go by without checking their bags.

“Sometimes you just have to hope that nothing bad will happen inside,” he said.

Tighten Up, Loosen Up

“Immediately after a bombing in Jakarta, office buildings, hotels and other premises will ratchet up their security procedures and there will be few complaints made by tenants and guests,” said Martin Hughes, director of Business Risks Indonesia, a security consulting firm. “But after months pass without any further attacks, pressure is then applied to these venues by tenants and guests who complain about how much time they have to wait and the inconvenience of a thorough screening process.”

However, Hughes said, this doesn’t apply in most embassies, which have more sophisticated systems.

“They [embassies] are at greater risk and only admit visitors they want into their compounds. They are not influenced by visitor complaints about the inconvenience of going through the screening process,” said Hughes, who has 30 years of experience in the security industry.

He added that factors such as insufficient budgets or carelessness by building owners or individual tenants mean that a number of high-profile buildings in the capital are vulnerable to attack.

“X-ray machines, for example, are costly and operators need to be well-trained and continually rotated,” he said, which does not often happen.

The situation is made worse because of the lack of public awareness about security despite Jakarta’s history of past incidents.

“People are very concerned in the immediate wake of a bombing, but as each month passes, the concern wanes,” he said.
“There is also a degree of desensitization towards bomb attacks as there have been quite a number across the archipelago since 1998.”

Are You at Risk?

In addition, Hughes noted, despite many similarities, there are no set standards for conducting security checks in Jakarta.

He recommends that before deciding on what equipment and procedures are required, building managers have a thorough security assessment done of their premises.

“If the location has a high-risk profile, then measures including an X-ray machine would be recommended,” he said. “Buildings that have been bombed in the past will have superior security in comparison to other buildings, but may still face some ongoing risk due to their reputation.”

The first priority should be to have a decent amount of space between the venue itself and motor vehicles, which could potentially be carrying explosives, he said.

“But this is difficult to achieve in the central business district. Due to Jakarta’s cityscape, it will often be difficult to have an adequate standoff distance,” Hughes said.

The next priority is to limit access points into a building  and ensure that people entering are screened, including at staff entrances.

The screenings should occur outside of lobby areas. In the event that a bomb device is detonated outside of the main lobby, potential casualties will be lower.

Hughes also emphasized that the guards carrying out the searches need to be well-trained and polite.

“The training should include observation skills so that they can better detect a nervous individual and to be able to search a bag thoroughly,” he said. “Expatriate visitors to a venue are often given a cursory search or are not searched. However, there have been terrorists with very western features, so all visitors should be searched in the same polite manner.”

The security devices in use also need to be used properly and serviced at recommended intervals.

Prepare For the Worst

“In many buildings, if the devices begin to beep indicating that the device has detected a ferrous object, guards ignore the sound and allow the visitor into the building without a physical search,” he said.

“Due to poor training, guards often believe that the [handheld] metal detector is a bomb detector and magically wave it over a bag or vehicle.

“Building managers should contact the Indonesian police bomb squad [Gegana] and seek assistance to properly train their guards in bomb awareness.”

Terrorists normally carry out reconnaissance of targeted buildings well in advance, Hughes said. They identify strengths and weaknesses and then develop a plan of attack.

When building managers make the best possible efforts within their budget to implement security procedures and protect their buildings, it may deter terrorists, who would go looking for a softer target to attack.

“However, if the terrorists are very determined to attack a particular building at any cost, then it will be difficult to stop them,” he said.

For the foreseeable future, some Jakarta buildings will still need to have serious security measures in place, Hughes said.

“As long as it remains attractive for people to become members of terrorist groups, these measures will need to stay in place and change as the threat evolves,” he said.