In addition to continually expanding the scope of traffic cameras in the capital, traffic police in Jakarta are utilizing another piece of technology that should, in theory, discourage bribing in lieu of tickets.
According to reports, toll road patrol officers are now equipped with body cameras that can relay videos real time to a traffic police command center. Among other uses, the body cam is supposed to discourage all sorts of violations and criminal behavior from both motorists and the officers.
"Other than live streaming [of video], we can monitor the officer, [including] what they say," Police Commissioner Arif Fazlurrahman of the Jakarta Metro Police Traffic Directorate told Kompas yesterday.
Body cams are a new technology for police in Indonesia. So far, only 16 of the cameras are available for use by traffic police officers in Jakarta.
The body cams are also equipped with GPS to allow the command center to track the officers' location, as well as an emergency button for officers to call for backup.
Traffic police in Jakarta last year implemented the Electronic Traffic Law Enforcement (ETLE) system, which utilizes traffic cameras to catch and fine delinquent motorists, in a drive to adopt technology for law enforcement.
The system is seen as one of the solutions for the widespread problem of traffic police asking for bribes from offending motorists in lieu of tickets (bribes can even come in the form of durian).