Bekasi – It has been seven years since community policing was adopted in Bekasi, but the concept has yet to penetrate the lives of all residents there.
The negative image the public has of the police force seems to be one of the reasons for the reluctance.
In addition, those living illegally, slums dwellers in particular, have not been involved in the Bekasi Police's target for community policing, leaving them to fester in crime-ridden neighborhoods.
"What? I've never heard about that," Hasan, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver said when asked if he knew about the community policing concept.
Hasan is not a Bekasi native. He is from Purwakarta in West Java. "I came here in 2002," he tells The Jakarta Post at his pool near the Metropolitan Mall.
The 35-year-old, with a wife and son, lives in a shack near Kalimalang in Bekasi. He says he has not yet applied for a Bekasi ID card and family card because he is not up to dealing with the bureaucracy and the possibility of having to pay bribes.
Spread over 210.49 square kilometers, the city of Bekasi is home to a huge number of people who, like Hasan, do not have a Bekasi ID card.
The Central Statistic Agency's (BPS) West Java chapter said in 2006 that 837,516 people living in Bekasi regency were unregistered, compared to the 1.9 million registered residents.
This figure directly impacts on the community policing program, which is designed for residents with valid Bekasi ID cards. There are three Public and Police Partnership (BKPM) posts in Bekasi, with 11 more in the pipeline, but none is located near or in the slums.
Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Mas Guntur Laupe says the Bekasi administration is responsible for non-Bekasi residents. "They live illegally in Bekasi, so we can't treat them the same as legal inhabitants," he says.
The police may argue about the lack of knowledge about community policing among illegal residents, but they also face the fact that many legal inhabitants also remain pessimistic and apathetic, despite knowing about the partnership concept.
It is the police's bad image that has caused many people to be reluctant to get involved in any police-related activities, including community policing, the public says.
A study last April by the University of Indonesia (UI), featuring 400 respondents from Depok and Bekasi, showed the basic problem behind the public's reluctance cut the police a little slack was the consistently poor service received at the investigation unit.
"For instance, the public has no idea how to check on whether the police have followed up on their reports," says UI criminologist Kemal Dermawan. "Plus, the police also lack the initiative to announce how cases are progressing, either because they feel they don't have to or because they fear it would tarnish their image."
Desi, 21, a Bekasi resident, echoes the findings in the UI survey. "Yes, I've heard about the BKPM and community policing, but I haven't seen the benefits of it yet," the resident of Kaliabang, Bekasi, tells the Post.
She adds she never feels comfortable dealing with the police, whatever the form of the activity. Desi claims to live in a safe and secure neighborhood, but says that has not nothing to do with community policing.
Heru Makdir, from the BKPM Pondok Ungu, admits not all residents in the neighborhood are thrilled about community policing. "Some are grateful to be involved in the activity, but most of the others show no response," he says.
However, he says, the program has gotten past its growing pains.
"In the early years, people were totally indifferent about us," he says. "But now, as you can see, many residents come to our post even if it's only for a chat or to hang around."
Local resident Ramlan says the crime rate in the neighborhood has dropped significantly since the BKPM was set up.
"There used to be a lot of motorcycle thefts and drunken gamblers who got rowdy here," he says. "Not anymore, though." (bbs)