Bali Police Launch Units Meant to Help Tourists

Made Arya Kencana

Denpasar. Bali Police have launched special quick-response units that will handle crimes and accidents involving tourists on the resort island.

There will be two special units, known as the Bali Guard Police and the Beach Guard Police, and they will initially have teams in Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar, areas that see a lot of tourists, Adi S. Putra, from the provincial police unit that deals with tourism, said on Sunday.

Members of the Bali Guard Police will take reports from tourists at the scene of the crime, so they don’t have to travel to a police station to file a report.

There will be 20 officers in total assigned to the Bali Guard Police and they will focus on major tourist areas. They will drive cars equipped with desks, chairs, computers and printers, so they can set up shop anywhere.

The Beach Guard Police, which has 10 members at the moment, will patrol beach areas and provide assistance to tourists involved in accidents.

Both units will concentrate on busy tourism areas like Sanur, Kuta, Seminyak, Jimbaran and Nusa Dua.

“The officers selected for the teams are competent in foreign languages and technology and knowledgeable about tourism,” Adi said on Sunday.

“Hopefully [we] will be able to respond quickly to help tourists who become crime victims and catch the perpetrators,” he added. “The same quick response is also expected for those who have had accidents.”

The units aren’t running 24 hours a day yet, but Adi hopes their mere presence will give tourists a sense of security.

Bali Police data show that 177 foreign tourists were crime victims last year. That was down from 217 in 2010 and 280 in 2009. Most of the crimes involved theft and robbery, and sexual harassment.