Plis Deh Jakarta!

Today, I’d like to propose something: let’s make some sort of online petition, or Facebook page/group, or something, for Citizens Against Noisy And Useless Police Escorts. Well, the term ‘police escorts’ might technically be incorrect, but you get my drift.

Every day, whether in traffic jams or not, we meet a small entourage of vehicles – the smallest being one expensive sedan like a Camry or Mercedes-Benz, escorted by an all-black Nissan X-Trail with police lights on top and four mean-looking guys inside – trying to get you off the road with their sirens so they can pass. Even when the roads are obviously jammed, the security vehicle still makes unending noises with the siren, and flashing all sorts of lights on the vehicles in front.

It gets so annoying that one time I almost didn’t give way to an ambulance, a vehicle we really, really should give way to.  Yet, these escort vehicles keep doing it, trying to get whoever they’re escorting just a few minutes faster to wherever the destination is. Just yesterday I saw a 3-car entourage with a police car in front and the black X-Trail at the back, doing its noise and light thing, trying to get through Sudirman traffic – the drivers in front of the entourage wouldn’t have been able to give way even if they wanted to, since the 2-lane road had already been overtaken by 3 lanes of traffic.

So, save us some irritation and use the energy to try to solve the actual traffic problem, eh boys?

Oh my, oh my. Talk about ‘right under their noses’. Two ecstasy labs were raided, where one was in a Brimob (police elite) housing complex, and the other one was in a Kopassus (special forces) housing complex. Fortunately, the raid was made possible due to the eventual vigilance of the neighborhood head (RT).

But really, how long had it been going on? A bit ironic, don’t you think?

So the city regulators have found an unlicensed, over-charging parking area smack in the middle of the city, for years somehow overlooked by everyone – the police headquarters.

Hey, give those guys a break! It’s not enough that they get paid very small salaries, the police are underrespected and often ridiculed as well. What’s a few rupiah from parking fees, eh?

Semanggi intersection, Gatot Subroto section. A Thursday afternoon.

The road is packed to the brim with cars and no movement in sight. Traffic is jammed all around and seemingly hopeless. Thankfully, the frustrated drivers have subsided their incessant honking for the last half hour or so. Except one – a gold Toyota Fortuner, haplessly trapped in between minibuses and minicars, cranks up the siren horn. Once. Twice, three times, then on and on…

Perhaps the driver thinks people will get out of the way just because he sounds his siren.

In Jakarta, usage of these police sirens are not limited to law-enforcement cars, but also to military vehicles, to bodyguard cars for government officials, even private cars, to the annoyance of many people due to the frequent use of these high-decibel sirens in Jakarta’s frequent traffic jams.

If say in American movies, the sound of the siren marks the coming of law enforcement or emergency services, in Jakarta it marks a government official passing by, or just some jerk who managed to get his hands on one.

This, sadly, has made many drivers react badly to ambulance sirens – they simply don’t budge until they actually see it’s an ambulance trying to pass by.

So here’s something we should support – abolish the sirens altogether! Use those old-fashioned bike horns or ask nicely if you want to pass.

The police are cracking down on public transports, or angkot, that do not drop off their passengers properly at the routes’ terminals. They are also encouraging citizens to report any public transports that do not do this.

Um, Mr Officer, can we also report when those angkots crash into our vehicles and run away? Will you be enforcing obedience of traffic laws? That seems to be a more pertinent problem.

I feel sorry for city cops. It’s not only people think they’re stupid enough to be fooled by dolls masquerading as passengers, but when pulled over, all the driver does is laugh!

And again, the intention of the 3-in-1 rule is lost on a lot of people…

A police vehicle from California, USA. Allegedly.

Slogan: To Serve And Protect

On the side of a police bus, Jakarta.

Slogan (translated): we know we’re not perfect, but we always try our best