Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Amid the hoopla over the city's high crime rate, some police officers are making a quick buck by working as security guards. Security services are in high demand due the recent crime wave in the city.

The chairman of watchdog Police Watch, Rashid Lubis, said Tuesday the security business was thriving due to the number of firms and individuals in need of the service.

"We all know the officers can do with the money, but what we are seeing now is the excessive commercialization of police services. I am afraid the police only perform well for those who can afford to pay them," Rashid told The Jakarta Post.

A recent Rp 2.45 billion robbery allegedly involving a police officer also lends credence to the opinion held by many that the police are housing criminals in uniform.

Though they have been unable to track down the officer, police said last week over 70 officers from the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) worked as guards for the targeted delivery service company, PT Trans Nasional Solution.

Separately, city police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana acknowledged several units at police headquarters, such as Brimob and detective squads, had been securing homes and companies for years.

Saying the service was a police duty, Ketut added, "Any firm or individual can request the police's service and we will deploy our personnel to guard them. It depends on the users (of the service) how much they want to pay, but we never ask for money in return for our services," he said.

S. Rahardja, president director of leading security firm Secom, told the Post recently the company employed many police officers, while the director of a finance company in Central Jakarta, who asked not to be identified, revealed over a dozen police officers had been put on its payroll for security reasons.

"We have no choice as our operations require guards. Extra funds for security can reach dozens of millions of rupiah each month," the director told the Post. A low-ranking police officer earns up to Rp 1 million a month, while a one-star general gets up to Rp 5 million.

Jakarta Police have around 26,000 officers. With the number of robberies on the rise, they have complained there are not enough officers to go around.

A reliable police source said his commander encouraged officers to get side jobs, giving some of their extra pay to their superiors. "We can get side jobs through official means if a client appeals directly to headquarters. But we can also get jobs through our immediate superior, or on our own. Of course, we have to send the money up (to our superiors), officially or unofficially, because that's the way things go here," he told the Post.