Question from Brooks

What are the police like? are they strict? are there any different punishments?


ANSWER: Ok, this can be a touchy subject since much criticism regarding law enforcement can end you up in trouble. There are plenty of police employed by the city and most of the time when I see them, they are directing traffic or escorting a diplomat, I have never really seen them pull someone over for a traffic stop. The issue with the police is this: most of them are corrupted. They are known for setting up road blocks and stopping those people who they think they can receive a bribe from. The general idea, especially among expatriates is that no matter what you do, legal or illegal, you can pay someone to make it go away. We are required by law to carry our immigration identification with us at all times and if a policeman asks us for it and we don't have it, then we can just pay him instead of going to court. For more serious crimes, people have tried to pay someone and they may succeed or fail. There is a story about a Western guy who killed a street peddlar while driving drunk. He was told that the matter would go away if he paid the paid the family compensation. He tried to bargain the price lower and the family became angry and went to the high court. He bribed the judge and still received 3 years in prison for his crime.

Indonesia is one of 66 countries who still practice capital punishment, this is usually carried out by a firing squad. Most people on death row have been convicted of murder, drug-trafficking and terrorism. There are 119 prisoners on death row as of January of this year with 55 of them being foreigners. There are groups who are trying to get the government to abolish the death penalty since most prisoners wait at least 5 years before the sentence is carried out, some as long as 20. Prison terms are similar to the U.S. for crimes but if you're wealthy, you can live in the lap of luxury even as a prisoner. It was exposed earlier this year how a woman who was serving a 5 year sentence for bribing a prosecutor lived in a cell that had flat screen tv's, maids, personal drivers to deliver things to her, unlimited visits and phone calls, beauty treatments and even had her adopted daughter staying with her along with her nanny all because she bribed people in the prison to allow it.

In addition to the regular police there are also the Sharia police, or as we call them, the moral police. Pretty much their job is to police those Muslims who are violating Islamic Sharia law. These offences could be drinking, unmarried couples sitting alone in the dark, eating pork, adultery, theft and gambling. The punishments for these crimes vary from the accused being required to attend religious lectures all the way up to the death penalty. If you're a married man or woman found guilty of adultery you are stoned to death but only if you confess or 4 men witness the actual act. If you are unmarried and you commit adultery with a married person then you receive 100 lashes.

And then there's the amateur police in Jakarta. These are the random people you see standing in the middle of traffic with a whistle directing traffic, stopping traffic to let other cars cross. They are not officially employed with the city so they rely on "tips" from the cars that they help get through traffic or park. They are present everywhere, my day is not complete if I don't see one.