Lampung has new police chief

Lampung has new police chief

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: Col. Didy Kusumayadi was sworn in as the new local police commander, replacing Col. Endang Suwanda yesterday.

Endang, who had held office for two years, has been promoted to the post of deputy chief of the North Sulawesi police commander.

Didy was formerly adjutant to the vice president.

Chief of the southern Sumatra police command, Maj. Gen. Arief Tawil, said when addressing the ceremony that the local police would involve the public more in carrying out their jobs because the number of personnel was inadequate.

With a population of 6.5 million and a total area of 35,000 square kilometers, Lampung province is secured by only 2,682 police officers. That means that each officer has to serve 2,450 people, he said.

"Ideally, the proportion should be one police officer for every 500 people," he told the Antara news agency. (pan)