Bekasi to get 12 more 'koban' next year

Wahyuana The Jakarta Post/Bekasi

Following the successful introduction of Japanese-style police posts, the Bekasi Police, with the assistance of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will build 12 more of these koban in 2005.

The announcement was made during Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Yutaka Iimura's recent visit to Bekasi Police Headquarters. The ambassador also visited the two existing koban, located in front of the Giant hypermarket near the West Bekasi toll gate and in the Pondok Ungu housing complex, North Bekasi.

"The success of this program shows the hard work of the Indonesian police," the ambassador said.

Koban are essentially one-room stations that were introduced in Japan in 1881 to protect officers from the elements. Koban are open around the clock, with officers manning the posts in three shifts. Officers assigned to these posts perform any number of duties, including helping lost children and providing directions.

Each post is expected to serve between 300 and 500 families. The post in Pondok Ungu is manned by nine officers working in three shifts, while the post in front of Giant is manned by up to 15 officers working in shifts.

A patrol car and two motorcycles are on standby at each post. Each officer assigned to the posts will have a walkie-talkie and access to the koban's computer, telephone and facsimile facilities.

Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Edward Syah Pernong said assistance from the JICA had become a catalyst for the "civilian police" movement.

For over 30 years, the police were under the authority of the military. The police were separated from the military several years ago and National Police Headquarters is now working to encourage closer ties between police departments and the public.

Over the past four years, the Indonesian and Japanese governments have been cooperating on the Support for the Reform of the Indonesian National Police program. As part of this program, Bekasi was selected to host a pilot project on enhancing civilian police activities. The project itself began on Aug. 1, 2002.

Bekasi is home to thousands of businesses and factories, including hundreds of Japanese businesses working in the automotive and electronics industries.

In addition to the koban, the JICA also has provided funding to build a fingerprint identification laboratory, to provide scholarships for police officers to study in Japan and to purchase 3,000 walkie-talkies for officers.