Another irksome game<\/p>\n
With the crime rate in this country, especially Jakarta,
\nrising ever higher, the police have had to redouble their efforts
\nto curb the alarming trend. And so far police authorities have
\nyet to devise an effective way to deal with the increasing rate
\nof vehicle theft.<\/p>\n
The most often heard police complaint is that the budget
\nallocated by the government is barely enough to cover operational
\nactivities, while citizens keep demanding better service.<\/p>\n
To overcome their financial difficulties the police have
\nturned to licensing, which they now look to for another source of
\nincome. The people have thus been asked to share the police's
\nfinancial burden but have yet to see any improvements in the
\nlicensing procedures. Those who have paid their vehicle tax
\npersonally in Jakarta, for example, know how tax payers are not
\nvery well respected.<\/p>\n
At the vehicle tax office, which is managed by the police in
\ncooperation with the local administration, the situation is truly
\nappalling. The situation is even worse at the licensing office,
\nwhere unauthorized middlemen, many of whom are on-duty officers,
\noperate freely.<\/p>\n
The police last year promised to modernize the system and
\nreduce the frequency of the obligation to renew vehicle
\nregistration from once yearly to once every five years. This has
\nyet to happen and the burden still lies squarely on the shoulders
\nof the public.<\/p>\n
A recent statement quoted the police as saying that steps were
\nbeing taken to detect car thefts as early as possible is refuted
\nby a fact that the police themselves have disclosed: Car theft
\nhas been on the rise lately.<\/p>\n
Now as if to add insult to injury the police recently
\nannounced another controversial policy. They now want to impose
\nan obligation on car owners to have their vehicles physically
\ninspected by officers every time they renew their registration
\ndocuments.<\/p>\n
The police deputy chief of operational affairs, Maj. Gen. M.
\nB. Hutagalung, said this week that the reason behind the new game
\nis that without regular inspections, it is difficult for them to
\nmonitor the identity of a vehicle.<\/p>\n
Is there any veracity behind this statement? Will the measure
\nreduce the number of car thefts and raise people's hopes of
\nfinding their stolen cars? As the old saying here goes, \"You need
\nto sell your cow to finance police operations to find your lost
\ngoat.\"<\/p>\n
It is worth remembering that one of the main police tasks is
\nto serve the public as best as possible, not to burden them.
\nAmidst the already-mentioned public frustrations, imposing this
\nnew obligation is really unthinkable for healthy-minded people.
\nNobody can guarantee that it will bring the crime rate down and
\nthe public will have to face an even more tangled web of
\nbureaucratic procedures at the police station.<\/p>\n
The authorities need to understand that the situation is
\nalready notoriously arduous as it is. The obligation to have your
\ncar engine checked from time to time is especially loathsome for
\nthe additional financial burden it imposes on the public.<\/p>\n
This latest idea endorses the basic way of thinking among
\npolice officers in dealing with the public; that is, the
\npresumption of guilt instead of the popularly-accepted
\npresumption of innocence. The implication of the obligatory
\nengine checks, in light of the number of criminals roaming around
\nthe city, is that all car owners are in possession of stolen
\nvehicles. It is the same as banning a person from addressing a
\nseminar for fear that he or she might say something to<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/another-irksome-game-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}