Police need more financial aid: Experts

JAKARTA (JP): Observing that police operations are expensive, a senior police officer and a legal observer conceded on Friday that the police often rely on "nonbudgetary" financing to carry out their duties.

Interviewed separately by The Jakarta Post, spokesman of the National Police Headquarters Brig. Gen. Dadang Garnida and legal observer Satjipto Rahardjo said the funds provided by the government were inadequate compared to their operational expenditures.

"The highest operational budget allocated to the police for a crime investigation is only Rp 200,000 (US$23)," Satjipto, who is a law professor at the Semarang-based Diponegoro University, said.

He said the government-sponsored funding was inadequate to cover the police's expenditures, citing, among other things, the skyrocketing fees for transportation.

"We cannot imagine that, for example, a police officer in Jakarta will able to chase a criminal to Surabaya, the capital of East Java, because of the very limited budget," he said.

Satjipto claimed that operational funds allotted to the national police were the lowest compared to other Asian countries.

"Based on a report by Asiaweek magazine, the ratio between the allocated operational funds and the number of policeman is inappropriate. That's why the police cannot give a thorough service to the community," he said, adding that a budgetary increase should be considered "a price for safety".

Dadang said the government was asked to raise the operational budget to assist the police in solving its cases.

"The Jakarta Police contributes some Rp 6 billion ($705,882) per day in driver's license fees, vehicle taxes and other revenues to the city administration. But the administration only gives the city police some Rp 900 million per year for its activities," he said.

Both Satjipto and Dadang admitted that the limited funds had caused police personnel to seek "other sources" to settle the budget problem.

"Some police officers may seek honest ways to cover the minimum budget. But others may pursue their own interests," said Satjipto.

It is not a secret that the police often seek various ways to deal with the problem, such as by selling illegal drugs which are seized during the police operations, or by providing protection for gambling dens.

Another move is to ask for money from crime victims in return for the police's readiness to track down their stolen valuables.

"Anyone reporting their missing goat to the police will eventually have to loose their cow," Satjipto said, using an analogy.

Meanwhile, Dadang praised the people who helped the police with their operational spendings.

"We thank the people who sometimes assist the police by providing funds for the police's operations," he said without elaborating.

"Indeed, the security in the capital is not only the responsibility of the city police, but also all Jakarta residents."

Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi urged the city administration on Tuesday to increase the allocated budget for the city police since the annual budget was too small to finance the police's operations and activities.

The two-star general refused to mention how much the budget the city police should get, but he said the current budget was inadequate to finance the police's operations here.

The city police comprises 18,000 personnel.

Earlier on Wednesday, Governor Sutiyoso rejected Nurfaizi's request for additional funding, saying the city administration was not responsible for increasing the budget.

"The administration is only a contributor; the responsibility for financing the city police's operations is in the hands of the National Police Headquarters," he said. (asa)