Police admit backing illegal gambling

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Admissions by active and retired police officers on the involvement of police personnel in providing protection for gambling have further tarnished the already poor image of the police.

For the police, receiving hot money is commonplace, it would appear.

Lasiman, not his real name, a provost officer at Jakarta Police Headquarters, admitted that gambling was the most appealing and lucrative illegal business as regards lining police officers' pockets.

"Police protection for gambling dens and receiving money from operators is already an open secret. I admit that I often receive money from several operators in North Jakarta," said Lasiman, who is an investigator in the city provost division.

The allure of hot money was also confirmed by his colleague Dorris, who revealed that he often received money not only from the operators but also from police colleagues in the detectives division to ensure protection for the rackets.

"Gambling dens are cash cows for us. If we need money, we can just visit a certain den to get some cash. The operators, including the police officers protecting them, usually start shaking when they see a provost officer," said Dorris laughing.

Lasiman and Dorris usually receive some Rp 100,000 (US$10) per visit. But they said they only asked for money once in a while as the illicit gambling centers were already protected by their colleagues from other police divisions.

"When you become a police officer, you must forget all ideas about being idealistic. Believe me, there is just no place for such people here. You must come to an understanding with your colleagues," said Lasiman.

After all, he argued, gambling was not as destructive as, for example, narcotics.

According to both officers, they would usually release a police officer who was caught backing up a gambling business. However, if he was caught red handed gambling, then he might be punished.

The involvement of delinquent police officers in providing protection for gambling operations was confirmed by a former chief of the National Police from 1978 to 1982, Awaloedin Djamin.

Awaloedin is the dean at the Police Higher Education College (PTIK) and a senior lecturer in the postgraduate police studies department at the University of Indonesia.

He said that gambling was prevalent not just in Jakarta but throughout Indonesia, and was backed up by police and military officers.

"I will not deny the police's involvement since the supply and demand theory comes into play here. The operator demands protection from the police," said Awaloedin, who refused to estimate the percentage of police officers involved in the business.

Awaloedin added that the security budget was the most expensive outlay on the part of a gambling racketeer. He claimed that a gambling operator might have to pay Rp 800 million out of Rp 1 billion in gross profits just for protection.

"A police officer is just a human being, not a saint. Moreover, their salary is very low compared to all the alluring worldly temptations they have to encounter.

"The solution is not to blame the police but rather the state, which has failed to legalize gambling," said Awaloedin.

Awaloedin appealed to the government to transparently manage and control the gambling business as it was impossible to eradicate it.