Bali could experience an increase in its crime rate this year because of the general elections and the global financial crisis, Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Teuku Ashikin Husein has warned.
Conflicts between supporters of political parties and the effects of the economic downturn -- increased unemployment and fewer tourists -- could drive up the crime rate, Ashikin said at the 2008 year-end press briefing held at the Bali Police headquarters in Denpasar earlier this week.
"If a recession does occur, companies will close and they will have to lay off employees. Furthermore, there will be fewer visitors from countries hit by the global financial crisis," Ashikin said.
"All that plus the added political tension from the 2009 elections leads me to believe that the crime rate in Bali will go up."
Bali seems to have dodged the impacts of the global financial crisis so far, with tourism remaining robust this holiday season. The island hosted more than 130,000 tourists between Dec. 22 and Dec. 30 last year, compared with about 125,000 in the same period in 2007.
Meanwhile, it is not clear when politics-driven conflicts will arise, although political rallies -- most likely to trigger violence among supporters -- are usually held close to the crucial months of March and April.
The election campaign will run from March 16 to April 5, with voting to take place April 9.
During the past decade, Bali has had several violent political clashes, in which dozens of people died.
To counter any possible increase in crime, the police have made several plans, Ashikin said, including optimizing uniformed police patrol times and coordinating with the General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) to prevent politically motivated crimes.
"More uniformed police in the streets means fewer possibilities for people to openly commit crimes, so we're concentrating on increasing that," he said.
"We have also started a combined legal enforcement entity with Panwaslu and prosecutors, and the police are ready to crack down on any politically motivated crimes."
He further urged the public to maintain the peace during the coming election campaign.
At the province and regency levels in Bali, 801 legislative candidates from 36 political parties will compete for seats in the national House of Representatives (DPR), and another 30 candidates are running for places on the Regional Representatives Council (DPD).
Despite the chief's warning, the police year-end report shows Bali's crime rate fell slightly in 2008 from the previous year.
Figures show there were 5,459 criminal cases reported in 2008, slightly lower than the 5,911 criminal cases in 2007, with Denpasar municipality having the highest crime rate.
Drug-related crimes fell slightly, from 737 cases in 2007 to 708 cases last year.
However, there was a large rise in violent crimes such as murder and grand theft, with reported cases increasing from 1,031 cases in 2007 to 1,186 cases in 2008.
The number of reported suicides also rose, from 114 in 2007 to 121 in 2008.
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