Indonesian police launch anti-terror mobile game

The Indonesian National Police have launched a smartphone game to educate children on anti-terrorism. Players, armed with a slingshot, attack gunmen with stones to score points.

The game called ‘Tumpas Teroris’ (meaning ‘Destroy Terrorists’) has seven levels, with an anti-terror message like “let’s keep Indonesia from threats” on each level.

The app features Afif, a gunman who has become the face of the terror attacks in central Jakarta on 14 January. Each level has cutouts of him against backdrops of iconic locations in the city.
 

“I used Afif’s image because I wanted to encourage hate and anger towards terrorists”, said software developer Adjie Pratama, who was commissioned by the police to build the app.
 

The app is aimed at children as young as three years old. But it is “among ways we are trying to make children more aware”, added National Police spokesman Anton Charliyan.

Another app called ‘Stop Terrorism’ lets citizens report suspected terrorists’ activities to the police’s public relations unit. The app uses the hashtag #KamiTidakTakut (#WeAreNotAfraid), which Jakartans began using on social media in response to the attack. The app has an online chatroom for citizens to discuss safety concerns, moderated by police officers.

It also has an emergency feature to contact the nearest police station. The two apps are available for Android and BlackBerry phones.