Indonesian Police to Reward Netizens for Reporting Cyberspace Crimes

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Indonesian National Police has announced that it plans to reward netizens who report crimes or potentially criminal acts on social media.

The step is part of Indonesian National Police head General Listyo Sigit Prabowo’s plan to launch the Virtual Police to deal with online crimes or crimes originating in cyberspace.

“The badge awards are the [police’s] token of appreciation for members of the public who help our Cybercrimes Directorate with their investigations,” said Indonesian National Police spokesman Police Grand Commissioner Ahmad Ramadhan at a press conference Wednesday.

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“But this award is not finalized yet, as we are still drawing up the criteria to get the award, as well as the mechanism to earn it. But we are definitely planning to issue the award, which will be given by the Cybercrimes Directorate.”

While the Indonesian National Police has yet to confirm when they will issue the badge or even determine its criteria, the Cybercrimes Directorate did upload the designs for the award on its Instagram account @ccicpolri.

General Listyo has drawn up the Virtual Police policy, after President Joko Widodo urged the police to be careful in enforcing the articles of the Information and Electronic Transaction Law [UU ITE].

Among the Virtual Police’s tasks are the use of virtual alerts as preemptive and preventive measures against online crimes or crimes stemming from cyberspace.

Aside from monitoring cyberspace for potential crimes or preventing the public from committing offenses, the Virtual Police also sought to educate the public, and warn them online.

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