Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia. The 7,659.02 square kilometres territory of Jakarta consists of 661.52 square kilometres of land, including 110 islands in Kepulauan Seribu, and 6,997.50 square kilometres of sea (Dinas Komunikasi, Informatika dan Statistik Pemprov DKI Jakarta 2017). Ports in Jakarta have played a crucial role as key gateways for both Indonesia's inter-island and international trade as well as the fishing industry. The busiest container port in Indonesia, Tanjung Priok, is located in Jakarta. Tanjung Priok Port alone is responsible for managing over 27 per cent of Indonesia's exports and more than 39 per cent of its import activities (Badan Pusat Statistik 2020a; 2020b, pp. 36–39). Jakarta is also home to six fishing ports. These include Cilincing, Samudera Nizam Zachman–Muara Baru, Pulau Pramuka, Muara Angke, Kamal Muara and Kali Adem (Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan 2013).

Security management across all ports in Jakarta, however, is not trouble free. The involvement of preman organizations in port security on the one hand has aided the security apparatus. On the other hand, it has brought various challenges, including violent conflicts among preman organizations and with the government security apparatus. Jakarta is home to many preman organizations that are competing for resources and influence in the country's capital city. As of 2016, there were 470 civil societies and 50 youth organizations formally registered with the Agency for National Unity and Politics (Badan Kesatuan Bangsa dan Politik) of the Jakarta provincial government. These include those that adopt hyper-nationalist ideology such as Pemuda Panca Marga and Pemuda Pancasila (PP); ethnic-based organizations such as Forum Komunikasi Anak Betawi and Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR); and groups that exhibit Islamic ideology such as Forum Pembela Islam and Gerakan Pemuda Ka’aba. Among the many preman organizations operating in Jakarta, two are deemed the largest and have been involved in port security; these are PP and FBR. The involvement of these two CSOs in port security took place at different periods. PP played an important role in port security during the early decades of Suharto's regime up till the 1980s. FBR's involvement in port security only began in the years after Suharto stood down.