Police ask the public to catch corrupt cops

Do you have a cellular phone with a camera? Then the Jakarta Police want you to be on the lookout for corrupt officers taking bribes.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said that the police were launching a new program to encourage Jakartans to photograph officers accepting bribes and submit the images anonymously to police headquarters.

“We will no longer tolerate police officers accepting bribes. The Jakarta Police chief believes our duty is to protect the public and not hurt them,” Baharudin said on Thursday.

Residents should muster the courage to photograph officers engaged in illicit behavior to expose corruption whenever it appeared, Baharudin said. “The only details we need is when and where is the photo was taken and the name of the officers.”

Meanwhile, Netta Pane, chairman of the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW), said the public needed assurances that the Jakarta Police would investigate the photographs and allegations.

“In the last few years, the police have opened many hot lines for the public to submit complaints, but after a while those hot lines became inactive and almost nothing was done about the reports that were submitted,” Netta told The Jakarta Post.

The Jakarta Police should deal with a bureaucratic backlog affecting existing investigations and complaints before launching a new initiative, she said. “The police need to answer these questions first: Are they capable to process the report? Will they follow through?” she said.

The Jakarta Police previously issued Sabhara rapid response unit officers new cellular phones to receive public reports. The contact numbers for the telephones are plastered on the rear window of Sabhara patrol cars.

“This way, the public can easily call them easily if they see a crime in progress,” Jakarta Police rapid response unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bonar Marpaung said on Thursday.

Marpaung added that Sabhara patrol cars were also equipped with first aid kits, crime scene processing equipment and body bags.

“As of now, there are 21 Sabhara patrol cars. We will add more cars gradually,” he said.

“This is a part of our implementation of the Sabhara unit’s quick response program and also to assist the National Police in anticipating the rise in criminal activities during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri,” he added.