Police in hot water over intensifying street crime

Police in hot water over intensifying street crime

T. Sima Gunawan, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta,
sima@thejakartapost.com

With a smile on his face, a police officer kicked a shirtless
boy who had a swollen lip and a cut near his eye. Another
grinning officer held the boy's arms.

The boy, who was reported to be 19 years old (though he looked
much younger), was arrested for allegedly robbing passengers
aboard a bus on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Thursday. A
sickle was seized from the suspect.

As if it were not bad enough that the prolonged economic
crisis has led to rising crime rates, now the suspected criminals
include fresh-faced teenagers.

The officers arresting the boy may have been smiling out of
pride at having nabbed a dangerous criminal who was endangering
the lives of bus passengers. But most people would rather see the
police beat crime rather than criminals.

People have long since lost confidence in the police, who have
failed to live up to public expectations as crime fighters.

Of course it would be difficult to fight crime if rumors of
police officers and military soldiers actually backing criminal
enterprises are true. In the case of the attack on the office of
the Tempo news magazine on March 8, police did nothing to stop a
mob from intimidating journalists, and stood idly by as editors
and reporters were struck by leaders of the mob.

However, critics must admit that the police have made some
efforts to combat crime. The Jakarta Police recently added to its
fleet of patrol cars and equipped the vehicles with Global
Positioning System. This is good, except the capital's notorious
traffic jams might have made motorcycles a more effective option.

Last July, Jakarta Police Radio was established at 91.1 FM
and the 112 emergency number was introduced. However, 112 is not
yet up to the standards of 911 in the United States, with most
people here unaware of the emergency number's existence and its
effectiveness still not known.

There are undoubtedly police officers out there who are good
and clean. But many people continue to see the police as corrupt,
with officers extorting people and taking bribes.

"If I am driving and I see a policeman around, instead of
feeling safe I feel afraid," a friend said. He has every reason
to feel so given reports about traffic officers stopping
motorists for questionable offenses and offering to settle the
matter "peacefully" -- give the officer some money and the case
is closed.

Money matters. Another friend said that last year he filed a
police report after his car had been stolen. When a few days
later he asked about the investigation into the matter, an
officer told him that in many cases cars stolen in Jakarta turned
up in West Java. The officer added, however, that they did not
have the money to continue the investigation. My friend, fully
aware of the low salaries received by the police, got the message
and handed over some money.

He never got his car back.

The oft-cited joke here is that if you lose your chicken and
report it to the police you will also lose your goat. And if the
case goes to court you will lose your cow as well.

In 1999 the police were separated from the military, with the
hope that the change would make the force more professional. The
police vowed to repair their tarnished image, not only by wearing
new uniforms but also by improving their performance in order to
regain public trust and confidence.

Unfortunately, things not only have not gotten better, they
have become worse.

A number of high-ranking police officers, including a former
Jakarta Police chief, were found allegedly to be involved in the
smuggling of luxury cars. The case hit the headlines when it
broke and police vowed a thorough investigation, and now a year-
and-a-half later the matter seems to have disappeared and the
status of the investigation is unknown.

There have been reports in recent years of police offices
being attacked by mobs unsatisfied with the police's handling of
a case. And there also have been numerous incidents of suspected
criminals being lynched, a phenomenon experts have partly blamed
on the breakdown of trust in the police.

On Sunday, about 100 bus drivers attacked the Paliaman Police
station in Cirebon, West Java, after they heard a fellow bus
driver had been shot and killed by a police officer. The officer
in question allegedly shot the 29-year-old driver for hitting a
patrol car. It was reported that the officer became angry and
discharged his weapon when the driver refused to pull over.

The officer was suspended shortly after the incident, but the
West Java Police later declared him innocent and ruled that the
shooting was "in accordance with procedures".

The police motto is "to protect and to serve". If the police
really want to regain the trust and confidence of the public,
they should truly protect and serve the people rather than their
fellow officers.