REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Criminal activities during the Ketupat Operation this year dropped 3.03 percent from that in the same period last year, according to the police.

"The 1,680 cases of crime recorded during the Ketupat Operation in 2015 were 3.03 percent lower than the 1,731 cases recorded in the same period last year," Senior Commissioner Suharsono, head of the public information division of the National Police (Polri), which had launched the activity across the country for Eid or Lebaran, said here on Tuesday.

On the whole, he added, security conditions during the 16-day-long Ketupat Operation, which was held from seven days before Eid (July 17) to seven days after the festival, were relatively stable.

Most of the crimes took place in East Java, Central Java, South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, the Polri spokesman revealed.

Moreover, the police recorded that a total of 646 victims died in traffic accidents during the Lebaran exodus/Ketupat Operation 2015, which lasted from July 10 to July 25.

"The police recorded 3,084 traffic accidents during the Ketupat Operation. As many as 646 victims were killed, with 1,057 victims having sustained serious injuries and 3,891, minor ones," Soharsono stated.

To ensure people's safety during the exodus, 82,538 police officers were deployed, along with 12,761 military personnel and 50,377 from other institutions, for the 16-day-long Ketupat Operation.

In total, 145,676 personnel were fielded across the country for the operation in 3,030 security posts and 1,083 public service posts that were established along the routes that would be taken by travelers during the exodus.

Furthermore, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan had pointed out that the primary constraints on the smooth flow traffic were a result of natural causes, particularly the eruptions of Mount Raung in East Java and Mount Gamalama in Maluku.

He had also admitted that during the Lebaran exodus, Java's northern and southern highways witnessed traffic congestions, with travelers returning after Eid.

"Offices open on Wednesday (July 22). So there were gridlocks ahead of the working days," he had explained.

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