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.