Police officer explains why corruption endemic<\/p>\n
Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A man planning to return to his hometown in Surabaya appeared
\nat a security post in the Senen railway station recently, saying
\nthat he had been robbed on his way to the station.<\/p>\n
\"I lost Rp 650,000 and now I've only got Rp 20,000 left. So I
\nbeg you sir, please give me a free ticket,\" the man said to the
\npolice officer on duty.<\/p>\n
Despite his plea, the policeman responded coolly, as if
\nnothing significant had happened. In accordance with official
\nprocedures, he made a note of the man's story, asked some formal
\nquestions and ..that was all. What was a disaster for the man was
\nclearly a matter of little importance to the officer.<\/p>\n
When asked why he had failed to take the necessary action to
\npursue the thief, the low-ranking officer replied: \"How can we
\nhandle such an incident when we are short of personnel? It is
\nalmost impossible to solve every single crime as we should be
\ndoing when we don't have enough people.\"<\/p>\n
Sadly, many police officers regard crime reports as part of
\ntheir routine tasks, even though the crimes in question can be a
\nnightmare for the victims. This isn't in keeping with the spirit
\nof their job, which is to serve and safeguard the people.<\/p>\n
No wonder the police are often blamed for their poor
\nperformance, while the alarming incidence of irregularities and
\ncrime continues unchecked.<\/p>\n
But the police officer on duty at the Senen railway station
\nthat day did not feel guilty. On the contrary, he made a point of
\ncomplaining about the size of his income.<\/p>\n
\"I've performed this same duty (safeguarding the annual exodus
\nand influx) for four years, but up 'til now we have hardly ever
\ngot a reasonable allowance,\" he told The Jakarta Post early this
\nweek.<\/p>\n
\"For these year-end festivities, the railway company PT Kereta
\nApi Indonesia only gives me, and the other personnel on duty, Rp
\n3,000 (about US$0.30) a day to be exchanged for a pack of rice
\n(nasi bungkus),\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"If we get the rice, we don't get the cash,\" he said, adding
\nthat he sometimes had to be on all day duty.<\/p>\n
It's only human to object to shouldering such heavy
\nresponsibilities in return for such an unreasonable reward.<\/p>\n
What about the internal police budget? He said that he had
\nnever heard anything about it.<\/p>\n
Of the 22,000 police personnel in the city, around 15,000 have
\nbeen assigned to duty during this year's holiday period, starting
\nearly this month.<\/p>\n
\"We hardly ever get to celebrate Idul Fitri because of this
\ncompulsory duty, and all we get in return is some staple food
\nplus a small sum of money as a holiday allowance,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He refused to disclose the amount of his salary or the holiday
\nallowance, but insisted that it was meagre.<\/p>\n
A low-ranking police officer's take-home pay is less than Rp
\n400,000, including the basic salary of about Rp 150,000.<\/p>\n
This is clearly not a significant amount of money, even though
\nthere are many other people with similar incomes, such as
\nelementary-school teachers and low-ranking civil servants.<\/p>\n
Such poor salaries can lead government employees down the path
\nof corruption if they lack the necessary integrity and virtue,
\nsuch as happens in government offices and the police force.<\/p>\n
The officer at the Senen railway station was aware of the
\npolice force's tarnished image and said that many officers
\nbehaved badly in many aspects of their duty. Still, he tried to
\ndefend them, saying, \"How could we survive with such major
\nresponsibilities when the compensation is far from adequate?\"<\/p>\n
To make ends meet, he admitted that once in a while he asked
\nfor bribes from motorists who had violated traffic regulations.<\/p>\n
\"But I only do it at certain times, such as at night. I never
\ndo it in the morning like other officers from the transportation
\nagency,\" he said.<\/p>\n
This may well be typical of members of a police force that
\nunfortunately lacks idealism and concern for the public's
\nwelfare.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-officer-explains-why-corruption-endemic-1447893297",
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