Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – The Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) said Wednesday that the number of attacks on policemen had risen within the last month.

IPW data shows that 11 police officers across the country were beaten, attacked and shot by civilians, three of them fatally, throughout January.

"The phenomenon shows that the relationship between the police and civilians has gotten worse," IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said Tuesday in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post. Neta urged the National Police to evaluate the police's performance and to restore their relationship with the public.

"Attacks on police officers show civilians' prolonged disappointments toward the police, who are deemed arrogant," he said. "The attacks toward the police will go on unless they improve their image and performance," Neta added.

The 11 officers who were attacked, beaten and shot by civilians in January included First Brig. Sukarno, 33, a Papua Mobile Brigade member who got shot by a stranger while on patrol in Puncak Jaya on Jan. 28, and Adj. Comr. ABL of the National Police, who was severely injured after being beaten and attacked by five men at his house in Kemang Pratama, Bekasi, Greater Jakarta. One of the attackers was ABL's own brother-in-law.

According to the IPW, eight police officers died of gunshot in 2011, comprising six officers, who were shot by criminals, and two officers died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. (mtq)