Analysis of Footpads as the Vulnerability Assessment of the Transport Security in Indonesia

ince transport occurs in the public domain and frequently involves intermodal transfers, it is a potentially vulnerable phase of domestic and international commerce (International Atomic Energy Agency Nuclear Security Series No. 9). Threats in the transportation process frequently occur during inland transportation, using cars or trucks. This is apparent in the 2013 Mexico case, where a truck transporting Cobalt-60 for cancer treatment was hijacked by street robbers. Similar cases such as the theft of radiography cameras in England and Canada also occurred in parked vehicles; it is possible for those cases to occur in Indonesia. In Indonesia, the threat in inland transport security is well-known as “bajing loncat” or footpads who often work in groups. For example, it is possible for a group of footpads to steal transported materials from a truck without being noticed by the drivers en route; a group of footpads may also ambush and assault during the driver’s break; another group may resort to coercive action during the hijacking. A possible scenario is that a group of trained footpads is allied with a terrorist group: they can easily steal the radioactive materials during the transportation process. In addition, Indonesia Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir—BAPETEN) has not released the regulation for radioactive materials transportation in the security aspect. A precedent study done by Muttaqim showed that Nuclear Security Series No. 9 by IAEA has not been implemented properly by BAPETEN, since the current regulation only emphasizes the safety aspect whereas the security aspect is not the main focus. Thus, this paper gives a vulnerability assessment from the issue of the footpads as a recommendation for BAPETEN to promulgate the regulation for radioactive materials transport in the security aspect. Thus, the risk from the transport security may hopefully be minimized and mitigated.