Police officer explains why corruption endemic
Police officer explains why corruption endemic
Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A man planning to return to his hometown in Surabaya appeared at a security post in the Senen railway station recently, saying that he had been robbed on his way to the station.
"I lost Rp 650,000 and now I've only got Rp 20,000 left. So I beg you sir, please give me a free ticket," the man said to the police officer on duty.
Despite his plea, the policeman responded coolly, as if nothing significant had happened. In accordance with official procedures, he made a note of the man's story, asked some formal questions and ..that was all. What was a disaster for the man was clearly a matter of little importance to the officer.
When asked why he had failed to take the necessary action to pursue the thief, the low-ranking officer replied: "How can we handle such an incident when we are short of personnel? It is almost impossible to solve every single crime as we should be doing when we don't have enough people."
Sadly, many police officers regard crime reports as part of their routine tasks, even though the crimes in question can be a nightmare for the victims. This isn't in keeping with the spirit of their job, which is to serve and safeguard the people.
No wonder the police are often blamed for their poor performance, while the alarming incidence of irregularities and crime continues unchecked.
But the police officer on duty at the Senen railway station that day did not feel guilty. On the contrary, he made a point of complaining about the size of his income.
"I've performed this same duty (safeguarding the annual exodus and influx) for four years, but up 'til now we have hardly ever got a reasonable allowance," he told The Jakarta Post early this week.
"For these year-end festivities, the railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia only gives me, and the other personnel on duty, Rp 3,000 (about US$0.30) a day to be exchanged for a pack of rice (nasi bungkus)," he said.
"If we get the rice, we don't get the cash," he said, adding that he sometimes had to be on all day duty.
It's only human to object to shouldering such heavy responsibilities in return for such an unreasonable reward.
What about the internal police budget? He said that he had never heard anything about it.
Of the 22,000 police personnel in the city, around 15,000 have been assigned to duty during this year's holiday period, starting early this month.
"We hardly ever get to celebrate Idul Fitri because of this compulsory duty, and all we get in return is some staple food plus a small sum of money as a holiday allowance," he said.
He refused to disclose the amount of his salary or the holiday allowance, but insisted that it was meagre.
A low-ranking police officer's take-home pay is less than Rp 400,000, including the basic salary of about Rp 150,000.
This is clearly not a significant amount of money, even though there are many other people with similar incomes, such as elementary-school teachers and low-ranking civil servants.
Such poor salaries can lead government employees down the path of corruption if they lack the necessary integrity and virtue, such as happens in government offices and the police force.
The officer at the Senen railway station was aware of the police force's tarnished image and said that many officers behaved badly in many aspects of their duty. Still, he tried to defend them, saying, "How could we survive with such major responsibilities when the compensation is far from adequate?"
To make ends meet, he admitted that once in a while he asked for bribes from motorists who had violated traffic regulations.
"But I only do it at certain times, such as at night. I never do it in the morning like other officers from the transportation agency," he said.
This may well be typical of members of a police force that unfortunately lacks idealism and concern for the public's welfare.