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Bali’s Rising Violent Crime Rate Could Threaten Tourism Industry
Made Arya Kencana | February 08, 2012

Residents taking part in a Melukat ritual in conjunction with the full moon to cleanse and purify their bodies and souls in Sebatu village in Tegallalang, Bali, on Tuesday. The self-purification ritual, done near a water source, is believed to cure various diseases. (Antara Photo) Residents taking part in a Melukat ritual in conjunction with the full moon to cleanse and purify their bodies and souls in Sebatu village in Tegallalang, Bali, on Tuesday. The self-purification ritual, done near a water source, is believed to cure various diseases. (Antara Photo)
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JohnnyCool
6:27pm Feb 20, 2012

It's not only crime rates that threaten Bali's tourism industry.

The island is faced with overpopulation and serious environmental issues. Poor infrastructure, lack of adequate planning, horrendous traffic jams, etc. also don't instill confidence for its future. Endless rhetoric and relentless hyperbole have use-by-dates.

Having said that, I don't agree with the scathing portrayals here of Balinese in general. Sure, there are many like that - but there are also many very decent Balinese who are pissed-off with what's happening, too.

Whilst I hope that they can arrest the ongoing rape of their island, I fear it may already be too late.

lironicus
10:06pm Feb 9, 2012

I've been visiting Indonesia 8 more times since my first visit in March 2006, but I refused to go to Bali until 2009(and then I only went there to meet someone I fell in love with).

Being almost exclusively in Jakarta before, I was surprised how lonely you can feel in Bali and how unsafe I felt there...even in the middle of Bekasi at night, waiting for a cab, I didn't feel worried, but in Bali, lots of banci, gays or drug dealer keep hitting on you and they don't take no for an answer! Also, no offense, but the Balinese seem to be totally lazy slackers, only interested in ripping off everybody(at least they rip off locals too, so there's no injustice). I'm originally from Germany and it seems like Bali is the Australian equivalent to what Mallorca is to German or British...they think it's "their" island(I heard some Australians actually believe it's part of Australia) and there's a lot more lewd behavior than I saw in any other part of Indonesia...

jchay
9:39pm Feb 9, 2012

Indonesia is so blessed with heavens of the best richest resources and most beautiful places, but it also has the worst government in maintaining the heavens! I guess God is fair.

facepalm
1:02pm Feb 9, 2012

Blightyboy: I'm guessing there'll be a few more years of tourism left in Bali before the backlash takes grip and the numbers dry up - then what will be left? The Balinese have committed themselves exclusively to chasing the tourist dollar at the expense of developing any other sustainable industry. Tempers will flare and violence will ensue - then when the smoke clears and the dust settles the Balinese will be left with nothing and nobody to blame but themselves. Sad, but they are writing their own kharma ticket.


blightyboy
11:26am Feb 9, 2012

Bali is basically consuming itself.

I live in Ubud, and what was once a nice town is now being destroyed by the greed and incompetence of the administration. There is even a plan being touted by one of the Royals to build and underground car-park below the soccer field in the centre of the town. Anybody who knows Ubud will see immediately that this is a crazy idea that makes no sense, accept of course to the self serving Royal. Everybody knows that out-or-town parking with ride-in facilities is the answer, but the administration refuses to accept this. And why, because they are making big bucks off coaches and parking, but meanwhile retailers are suffering because of the chaos, and the town is dying a chocking, painful death. I know a number of hoteliers and they all same the same thing, most visitors to Ubud say they will not return. Greed and corruption are killing Ubud, and will eventually kill tourism across Bali. Grab what you can now and [edit[ the future, is the Balinese way.


Denpasar. After years of recovering from terrorists attacks, Bali is now dealing with rising crime that threatens to sully the image of the tourist-dependent resort island, Governor Made Mangku Pastika said on Tuesday.

“Pickpocketing, for example; in Jakarta it is a merely a petty crime, but in Bali it becomes amplified and sensitive. It has a substantial impact on tourism,” Pastika said.

Speaking at a meeting of the province’s police leaders, Pastika said that no matter how trivial a crime was, in Bali it had the potential to become big.

He said that another threat to tourism was conflicts between traditional villages. He cited the case of a recent dispute between two villages in Gianyar district that became big news after the international news channel CNN reported it.

Pastika also said that while terrorism continued to be a threat, narcotics had become an escalating crime.

Bali, Pastika said, was no longer just a transit point to traffic illegal narcotics from mainland Asia to Australia but was now a market of its own.

He said trust and security would be difficult to rebuild once it had been damaged, and therefore he asked the police to not only consider security as physical security but also incorporate aspects of safety, certainty, prosperity and peace.

Pastika said trust should be built from bottom up and not the other way around.

As an illustration, he pointed out that “nowadays, it is the police headquarters that are flashy. But it is the precinct police who are at the forefront. They are squalid and the people are bad and of inadequate quality. What needs to be strengthened is the precinct police.”

Bali Police Chief Insp. Gen. Totoy Herawan Indra said that although crimes were diminishing in number, their seriousness had risen.

There were 5,280 cases of crimes in 2011, or 10 percent less than in 2010. However, cases of crime involving violence rose by 38 percent from 118 cases in 2010 to 162 in 2011.

Totoy said one thing to remember was that criminals were increasingly targeting tourists on the assumption that they had money to be able to travel

“Bali has become a place that is attractive to many, including criminals. Their targets are also tourists, foreigners or local,” Totoy said.

Bali’s economy depends largely on tourism. The island has suffered from two terrorist bombings, and each time it took years before tourism levels returned to its previous levels.