Police emergency call expands focus beyond security issue

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Since its establishment in July, the Metro Jaya 911 Emergency Assistance system has expanded its focus from crime and security to public order and traffic-related situations in the capital.

Nanang, who drives to his office in Kuningan, South Jakarta, from his home in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, always tunes in to radio station FM 91.1 Suara Metro for the latest traffic information.

"And if I need traffic information when I have to leave the office to go to, say, Tanjung Priok (in North Jakarta), I just dial the emergency line 112 on my mobile phone. The radio station will soon air the latest information direct from a police patrol," he told The Jakarta Post last Friday.

The radio station is an integral part of the city police's emergency call system, which is reached by the toll-free number 112 provided by state-owned telephone company Telkom. Housed on the third and fourth floors of the Jakarta Police's Command Control Center building, the system is known as Radio 911.

But, Nanang said, he was often unable to get through to the system.

According to the system's operation chief, Comr. Dahana, the system currently has 20 direct lines, which are handled by 15 operators -- mostly university students participating in apprentice programs at the police headquarters. They work in three shifts.

In one hour alone, the five on-duty operators can receive 2,000 phone calls from the public.

"As a consequence, sometimes the caller has to wait for a minute or two before speaking to an operator. The operators are very busy, sometimes they have to handle four or five calls that come in at the same time," Dahana said.

Although there has not yet been an emergency call from a foreign resident, the police are planning to recruit operators who can speak fluent English, said Dahana.

"But I believe the current operators can communicate in English," he quickly added.

Radio 911 was designed to provide a quick response to emergency situations, allowing for coordination with the police, ambulances, tow trucks and the fire department.

Suara Metro announces emergency situations or alerts listeners to the current security and traffic situation.

Because of its wide range of services, Suara Metro marketing officer David J. Pangemanan said, the system indulged the community.

"We cannot refuse calls from people whose cars have broken down or who have flat tires. The police have to find a way to solve their problems," he told the Post.

The chief of the East Jakarta Police, Brig. Edi Sugiarto, said fewer people were coming to police stations to file complaints or reports because they were going through the emergency assistance system, which saved time and energy.

"The radio also help us to get to crime scenes much faster," he told the Post while patrolling in Cawang, East Jakarta.

"This service is really an effort to restore the people's trust in the police, whose image has been tarnished by a past history of poor public service," he said.

However, not all Jakartans are aware of the presence of this new police service.

"I don't listen to the radio. And I don't need to listen to traffic reports. And is it really true that my complaint will be solved fast just because the police get to the scene faster? I doubt it," Muhayar, a Cililitan resident who works as a motorcycle taxi driver, said.