Don't panic! City police have their finger on the button
Don't panic! City police have their finger on the button
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Observers expressed fear on Tuesday that a new panic-button
system would encourage the city police to offer special treatment
to people who pay for their services at the expense of the public
at large.
Police Watch chairman Rashid Lubis stressed that the police
have the duty to provide equal protection to all citizens
regardless of their economic status as the Constitution
guarantees that all citizens have the right to be protected by
the state.
"Surely this panic-button system opens up the possibility that
specific groups will receive more attention than others. How can
the police guarantee that they will provide the same services to
all citizens if they get paid by some but not by others?" Rashid
told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Yusuf Rizal of the People's Information Center (Lira),
welcomed the move, however, but warned city police against
sacrificing the interests of the public at large.
"We know that the police have limited funds and this is one
way of resolving the problem. Applying technology like this
should be welcomed and private sector involvement is needed. The
question, is can they continue to provide the same services to
people who pay and people who don't?" he told the Post.
The panic button system is a 24-hour alarm system that
notifies the mainframe computer at police headquarters upon being
pressed by a person wishing to get police help. The mainframe,
which is connected to the computers in police precincts and sub-
precincts, then automatically assigns the nearest police patrol
car to come to the person's assistance.
It consists of two buttons, red and green. The red button will
tell police that a crime is occurring at the subscriber's
premises, while the green button sends a message that a
subscriber requires immediate police help.
City police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said last week that
he had appointed PT Widya Prakoso Abadi to integrate the panic-
button system with the police patrol system.
PT Widya Prakoso Abadi would provide the hardware and
software, while the police would deliver the security services.
Individuals and corporations can directly subscribe to the
service with PT Widya Prakoso Abadi. It costs Rp 2.6 million
(US$258) to buy and install the equipment needed in one's home,
office or car, plus a Rp 150,000 fixed monthly fee, and an
additional service charge the subscriber summons the police.
So far, six subprecincts -- Kebayoran Lama subprecinct in
South Jakarta, Kebon Jeruk, Tanjung Duren and Taman Sari
subprecinct, all in West Jakarta, Kelapa Gading subprecinct in
East Jakarta and Tanjung Priok subprecinct in North Jakarta --
are ready to apply the panic-button system.
Rashid said he was afraid that the police would neglect
providing services to the wider community as they would
now concentrate on the few who were willing and able to pay.
He also said that he was afraid the panic-button system was
only a new scheme for senior police officers to get money.