'The police are civilians like us'

The National Police celebrated the force's official 58th anniversary on July 1. In reality, however, the police are often criticized for their performance in upholding the law and justice, with the force itself frequently being condemned as a hotbed of corruption, extortion and other abuses. The Jakarta Post asked some Jakarta people for their views on the police.

Edi Setiawan, 31, is an employee of a private company located in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. He lives with his wife in Kreo, Tangerang:

I didn't realize that today is the anniversary of the police. I don't think too many other people on the street are aware of it either as most of are preoccupied with the presidential election and Euro 2004.

I think this city has started to become safer since the police started their city patrols last year, which reach down into the housing complexes.

But I wonder why there's never a single traffic police officer to be seen when there are traffic jams, but there's always one or two of them around to ticket us for violations that we didn't even realize we we're committing.

I hope the police in the future adopt a more humane approach when dealing with us, whether criminals or not. The police are now civilians, the same as us, isn't that right?

Jemi, 28, is an attendant in a fruit kiosk in the Pasar Palmerah traditional market, Central Jakarta. He lives in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta:

I never have any problems with the police, but to tell you the truth, I have heard enough about them from my relatives and friends, who all say they are very arrogant. Maybe it's because they're armed.

A taxi driver once told me that he almost rear-ended the car in front of him in the middle of heavy traffic somewhere in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. The owner of the car was a retired police officer. He stopped the taxi driver and confiscated his driving license. He said that he would return the driving license if the taxi company called him to apologize. That's crazy.

I don't know what happened next as I haven't met the taxi driver since them.

--The Jakarta Post