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.