Ninin Damayanti frantically dialed the police'€™s emergency number around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2013, seeking help after her husband beat her in their house. She waited for a while before an operator answered her call and asked for her name and asked about the emergency she wanted to report. Ninin reported her husband'€™s abuse but only received a flat response from the operator.

'€œThe operator only said '€˜Oh, KDRT [domestic abuse]'€™,'€ Ninin, who that night had her head repeatedly banged against the corner of a window by her husband, told The Jakarta Post via email.

She was crying and asking the operator to send police officers to her house in Bojonggede, Bogor, West Java, as soon as possible. The operator asked her to wait for the officers to arrive.

After waiting for 45 minutes, Ninin, who locked herself in her bedroom in fear of her husband, called the number again.

'€œThe operator said the nearest police office could not be contacted,'€ she said.

Eventually, Ninin and her child were saved by Ninin'€™s brother, who came to pick her up. That night, she left the house for good.

'€œI was disappointed with the emergency call service. I'€™d rather ask for help from friends or family than calling that number,'€ Ninin told the Post.

Diana, a 27-year-old retail worker, reported a theft in South Jakarta two years ago to the 110 emergency number.

'€œThe response was slow and I was asked too many questions,'€ she said, adding that she eventually called her friend who was a police officer.

The operators are required to ask several standard questions to anyone who dials 110 to report an emergency, said Ahmad Fauzan, who worked as an operator at the police call center office in the Citywalk Sudirman building in Central Jakarta.

'€œSometimes the callers are panicked, so we have to calm them down first,'€ said the 23-year-old man who has been working at the call center since its opening in 2013.

Ahmad received an emergency call from a woman who reported domestic abuse at the end of last year. He processed the report and found out later that the case had been followed up by police officers and the woman had been secured.

'€œReports about domestic abuse usually come around midnight,'€ he said.

He also received a call from a woman who reported that some people stole her car'€™s rearview mirrors around four days ago. She was afraid the people were members of a violent motorcycle theft gang. The report was then forwarded to the nearest police officer.

'€œThe woman called us back 15 minutes later saying that police officers had come to her place and escorted her to the nearest police station,'€ he said with a proud smile on his face.

Ade Intan, 26, who has worked at the call center for seven months said that most prank calls she received were men harassing her and some even cursed.

'€œSometimes they shouted animals'€™ names,'€ she said while smiling.

However, Ade told the Post that she enjoyed her job, adding that being able to work with the police to assist the public is a source of pride for her.

The call center operational supervisor Ario said he and his team always try to do their best and that they carry the police image although they are all civilians.

'€œPeople think that we are police officers so they blame us for the police'€™s slow response,'€ he said.

The call center'€™s job is simply to receive calls from the public and forward the concerns to police officers.

'€œSome successfully handled cases are recorded because of this call center, although we are seldom mentioned. We sometimes feel like a baby'€™s diaper, but that'€™s okay,'€ said the friendly man while smiling bitterly. (prm)

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