JAKARTA, Indonesia – Some 87,000 police personnel will be on hand to ensure security during Christmas and New Year observances, National Police Chief Gen. Sutarman told a House of Representatives hearing Monday (December 16th), local media reported.

Most will be stationed at churches nationwide. "We will also deploy forces to airports, train stations and sites that are popular during the New Year celebrations," Sutarman said, according to The Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta Police Deputy Chief Sudjarno, meanwhile, said that security in the capital had improved, with 13 fewer incidents of public disorder reported this year compared with 2013, but that year-end security was a priority.

"Our focus will be on the big churches, particularly the Jakarta Cathedral and GBIP Immanuel Church in Central Jakarta," Sudjarno was quoted as saying, referring to the country's biggest Catholic and Protestant churches, respectively.

"We're going to beef up our security forces there, because both places are icons of Jakarta, and indeed of Indonesia."