Jakarta Police reach out to the public through SMS service
Jakarta Police reach out to the public through SMS service
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Upon seeing an unusual traffic jam around Megaria Theater on Jl.
Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, Andi, 36, a journalist at a radio
station in Jakarta who was shopping nearby, picked up his cell
phone and sent a short text message (SMS) to the police's newest
hotline, 1717.
"They replied straight away, saying that their officers were
on the way there. And it was incredible, because when I looked
outside the supermarket a police car had actually arrived. The
traffic jam was quickly resolved," he said.
With the 24-hour service launched in February, the police have
removed barriers for people who need to contact them.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said that since the
line became operational, thousands of short messages requesting
assistance had been received by his office from throughout the
city.
"We try to take every message seriously ... any kind of
complaint, whether it's domestic violence, traffic jams,
robberies, and even bomb threats, although we found many of those
to be false reports," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Besides reporting accidents, traffic jams, or crimes, people
can also use the 1717 service to check the legality of a vehicle
they may want to purchase.
"People can verify the legality of a car by sending us the
registration plate number. It means that people don't have to
worry about buying used cars as they can check it out before
buying," said Sr. Comr. Djoko Susilo, head of the traffic police.
City Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani has ordered his
officers to arrive at report scenes within 15 minutes.
He said that this should not be difficult considering that
there were around 400 police subprecinct stations throughout
Greater Jakarta.
"We will continue building subprecinct stations to cover every
subdistrict in the city so that police can get closer to the
communities they are supposed to serve," he said.
Currently, the ratio of police to Jakartans is 1:600, meaning
that one officer must serve 600 residents.
The figure is still far from the ideal ratio of 1:350
suggested by the United Nations.
The police also have an emergency call number, 112, which is
connected on air to their official radio station Suara Metro.
Tjiptono said that foreigners or expatriates who could not
speak Indonesian could send SMS messages in English, or call
directly in English as his office has assigned English-speaking
officers.
"Gradually, we will provide officers who can speak other
languages as well. So foreigners shouldn't be hesitant to contact
us."
However, many Jakarta residents remain to be convinced about
these apparent improvements in police services, which remain
tainted by corruption and misuse of authority.
Ida, 40, a school teacher who lives in Pancoran, South
Jakarta, said that she still sees police officers making deals
with traffic violators.
"I feel the presence of the police around us. Of course, I
feel more secure. However, it remains to be seen whether we can
trust them again, and clean up their bad image," she told the
Post.