Crime Figures Down in Bali but Critics Say Security Has Long Way to Go

Crime Figures Down in Bali but Critics Say Security Has Long Way to Go
Made Arya Kencana | December 29, 2010



Denpasar. Bali Police on Wednesday reported a small drop in the number of crimes involving foreign tourists this year, but were told much more needed to be done.

Some critics said the police focus seemed to be on foreign tourists, while domestic tourists accounted for the largest number of visitors to the island.

Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, head of the Bali Tourism Board, said there needed to be a greater focus by the police on overall security for tourists, foreign and domestic alike.

“Please do not forget that the number of domestic tourists traveling to Bali is far greater than the number of foreign visitors,” Ida Bagus said.

He was responding to Wednesday’s year-end report by the Bali Police. It said the number of foreign tourists in Bali who fell victim to criminal activity had fallen to 217 in 2010, from 280 the previous year.

“And the decrease in crimes involving foreign tourists is still very small,” Ida Bagus said. “There is a whole lot of work yet to be done by local police.”

Sr. Comr. Gde Sugianyar Dwi Putra, a Bali Police spokesman, however, said the decrease was significant considering the number of officers on Bali and the number of tourists.

He said there were 12,000 police officers to cover the entire island, while Bali had welcomed 2.27 million tourists this year as of Monday.

“And even if this is seen as a small decrease, we hope it can at least project the impression that Bali is getting safer,” he said.

Most of the foreign tourists targeted by criminals were the victims of robbery, he added.

“However, we still guarantee their security. We will do everything in our power to see that visitors do not suffer even a single scratch,” he said.

Sugianyar added that the number of foreigners involved in crimes on the island had also decreased — to 82 so far this year from 86 last year.

Of these 82 cases, 27 involved drug crimes. Sr. Comr. Mulyadi, head of the Bali Police’s narcotics division, said the total number of drug crimes on the island had risen to 264 so far in 2010 from 118 last year.

Police, he added, had seized 10 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, six kilograms of marijuana, six kilograms of hashish, 5.6 kilograms of cocaine and more than 8,300 ecstasy pills this year.

Three men, including two foreign nationals, were arrested last month at Ngurah Rai Airport for drug smuggling.

“Bali is still considered part of the golden triangle for drug dealing and distribution by international syndicates,” Mulyadi said.