Crimes drop, violence on the rise, says police chief

Crime rate in Bali during 2011 dropped by around 10 percent compared to the previous year, but the severity of crime increased, the Bali Police announced in its year-end report.

The police recorded 5,280 cases of crime in Bali during 2011, a 10 percent decrease compared to 5,867 cases in 2010.

Of that number, the police highlighted an upward trend in relation to cases of crime with violence.

“The number drops, but the severity of crime has increased, as is evident by the rising number of violent crimes,” said police chief Insp. Gen. Totoy Herawan Indra.

Cases of violent crime increased by 38 percent from 118 cases in 2010 to 162 cases in 2011.

“Criminals are getting bolder. They’re not only targeting valuable items. They won’t hesitate in hurting their victims, which causes a greater impact upon these victims,” Totoy said.

He said that the rising rate of violent crime was due to the impact of the booming tourism industry in Bali.

“The rapid development of tourism in Bali has made the island as an interesting place for many people, including criminals, as they have greater opportunities to commit crimes here, targeting foreign and local tourists.”

In many cases, criminals are targeting tourists because they assume that tourists bring a lot of money, he added.

During 2011, there were some cases targeting foreigners. On Jan. 19, a British woman named Lusiana Burgess, 46- years-old, was found dead after being robbed in her house in Umalasari, Kerobokan, North Kuta.

On Jan. 25, Australian woman named Christine Cheryl, 57-years-old, was robbed when she was staying at Villa Mangga, Pererenan, Badung regency. The incident took place early in the morning, with Cheryl losing around Rp 800 million.

On Jan. 20, Ekoto Philip Mimbimi from the US was robbed in his house in Alfa Laba housing complex in North Kuta. The 35-year-old man was rushed to hospital after he fought with the two robbers.

To anticipate similar cases this year, the police said they would intensify routine patrols in strategic locations.

“We will make greater efforts to deploy all of our resources to conduct monitoring, safeguarding and patrolling,” Totoy said.

Unfortunately, an increasing number of foreign visitors and expatriates choose to live in isolated villas.

A large number of these villas do not have proper security arrangements.

Some were not even registered as commercial villas. These facts make it more difficult for the police to identify areas that need to be patrolled.

The police would also intensify its efforts to develop community policing and build better cooperation with traditional security officers.

Gde Made Swardhana, a criminologist from Udayana University, agreed that rapid tourism development had a significant impact in the rising crime rate.

The criminals have become bolder because they have to struggle to make a living.