Ulma Haryanto & Antara, Jakarta – The public was to blame for corruption within the police force, Comr. Gen. Nanan Sukarna, head of the National Police General Supervision Inspectorate, said on Tuesday.

"The people should not provide the opportunity for policemen to become corrupt and crooked. We should prevent this together," Nanan said after meeting the leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He added that people who offered bribes were also breaking the law.

Nanan said the police would use the results of the integrity survey released by the KPK on Monday in the drive for reform.

The survey found that bribery was rampant when it came to securing drivers' licenses and police reports showing that a citizen had a clean record, with officers demanding bribes and people offering to pay them.

The conclusion was reached after the KPK questioned people who had sought services at 22 district police headquarters. "People should not provide the opportunity for police to become corrupt," Nanan said.

He said the police were continuing with bureaucratic reforms, adding that police service units providing licenses and criminal record reports were "extraordinary" exceptions that did not reflect corruption in the wider force.

KPK Deputy Chairman Muhammad Yasin said the two services scored far below the national threshold of 6 for graft. The National Police drivers' license service scored the lowest, at 4.4, while the police document service was rated 4.81.

Neta S. Pane, from Indonesian Police Watch, said that the survey reflected the reality that people experienced dealing with police. "This needs serious attention from the government because the police are at the frontline of legal services," he said on Tuesday. "They should use the results for introspection."

Neta also criticized Nanan for putting the blame on the public. "It was not a mature statement coming from an elite officer," he said. "We all know that we have to pay if we want to be served. He should only have said that they were going to evaluate themselves."

However, Neta said some services provided by the police had improved, citing the mobile driving license service, some of which are open at night to accommodate those working during the day. "Even so, these improvements have only been seen in Jakarta or Surabaya," he said. "We should expect the police to improve services in all regions."

The National Police have been suffering from a string of controversies that have lowered public trust in the institution. The problems include allegations that officers fabricate cases and that the judicial mafia are operating freely within the National Police headquarters.