Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Jakarta police will gather public transport operators following recent cases of rape and robbery committed in public transport vehicles.

"We will counsel them so that they will not entrust their vehicles to illegal drivers," Jakarta Metropolitan Police Command director for community supervision Senior Commissioner Erwin Usman said here on Friday.

He said operators of public transport vehicles must have responsibility and monitor their drivers.

He said the police would give them counseling and directives so that they would no longer hire drivers who are not competent such as not possessing a driving license as an example.

He said he would also instruct police officers at resort and sector police commands to conduct counseling for women who use public transport from work at night due to potential crimes that may happen on them.

"Women who return from work by public transport had better not going alone," he said.

He said the women also need to memorize the characteristics or identities of the public transport they used and when crimes occurred on them to report immediately to the nearest police stations.

A female student of Bina Nusantara University in West Jakarta, Livia Pavita Soelistyo, was recently robbed and raped while on a public transport home by several people acting as the driver and passengers.

Her body was found dumped in a field in Casauk, Tangerang, Banten, on August 21 after she went missing since August 16.

The West Jakarta police have already arrested all of the people involved in the rape.

A female employee known by her initials as RS (27) meanwhile was raped by four people on a public transport on September 1, 2011.

South Jakarta police members have caught two of the rapists while the other two were still at large.

According to Jakarta police data 40 rape cases have been recorded to happen in Jakarta and its buffer cities of Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi until in the middle of September this year.

Criminologist from state University of Indonesia Adrianus Meliala said rapes had occurred in public transport because control on public transport was weak.

"Rapes are the peak of smaller incidents in public transport such as pickpocketing, cheating and others," he said.

In view of that he said the government had to increase its supervision on public transport. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011