Police recruitment drive attracts high school grads

JAKARTA (JP): About 150 high school graduates were sitting on an asphalt yard in the Jakarta Police Headquarters on Friday, hoping to become members of the force.

The young men, wearing long-sleeved shirts and shaven headed, were applying to become low-ranking police officers. They looked very anxious when some of their group were called to form a separate line.

The day before, they had gone through a series of tests, including physical endurance and marching skills. Those whose numbers were called out by a recruitment officer were allowed to take the next examination session -- a written 'ideology' exam.

Eventually, the police officer stopped calling out numbers. Twenty-two boys remained sat on the asphalt. They quickly realized what had happened.

"Alright you guys, you just aren't lucky this time. Please leave now," the police officer said.

The young men got up slowly and left, still looking at their friends standing in line, who were also staring at them. Some waved goodbye.

They are allowed to try again next year if they are still under 23 years old.

Several recruits that were allowed to proceed to the next test told The Jakarta Post that they really wanted to be assigned to the traffic police's driver's license unit.

"If I have a choice, I'll be assigned to the driver's license unit because I have heard police personnel who are assigned there get a lot of money," recruit Rio Nurkusumah said. Other recruits joined in the chorus.

"Yeah. I heard that they can earn around Rp 100,000 a day. Imagine how much they can earn in a month," another said.

Windi looked concerned: "I don't know if I can be assigned at the (directorate of) traffic. I'm not that tall. They only assign tall people there," he said.

The driver's license processing unit has long been popular with officers because they get the chance to make money by allowing applicants to bypass the time-consuming test to get a license.

The unit is also a favorite spot for scalpers who offer a quick service. They charge applicants twice the official price of Rp 52,500 and share the proceeds with police officers.

The recruitment drive, which opened on Sept. 11, will continue until Oct. 7.

Females

Data at the recruitment section of the Jakarta Police personnel department showed that until Friday, 2,040 high school graduates, including 183 girls, had applied to join the force.

However, almost 50 percent of them had been rejected because their grades in nationwide school examinations were not up to the standard set by police headquarters.

The National Police announced earlier this year that in accordance with the public's demand to have more qualified police personnel, they would set a minimum examination score for those who wished to join the force.

Recruitment section head Asst. Supt. A.F. Zaman revealed that one recruit was caught trying to apply for the force using forged examination certificates.

Zaman also said that three other recruits tried to apply using forged high school diplomas.

"One of them even had three diplomas, from elementary to high schools, all forged," Zaman told the Post.

"He admitted he had bought the diplomas from somebody for Rp 2,1 million," he said.

Zaman said that the four recruits were currently being detained at police headquarters and would be prosecuted according to the law.

"This is a crime," he said.

"We didn't used to prosecute cases like this, but we will this time," Zaman, who has been in the office for six months, added.

Graduates from hotel management vocational high schools who came to the headquarters also had to leave because they are not eligible for recruitment.

"That's in accordance with the rules," Zaman said, adding that those who graduated from fashion, cooking, and beauty schools were also not allowed to apply.

"We know that all these skills could be used in the police corps, but do we really need them now?" he said.

However, Zaman said, other graduates from vocational schools whose skills did not immediately seem relevant to the force were allowed to join since certain schools were not banned.

"For example, we have allowed a boy who graduated from a vocational farming development school. Where are we supposed to assign him?" Zaman wondered. (jaw)