COMMUNITY POLICE PERCEPTIONS IN TIMOR–LESTE 2013

SURVEY BRIEF

2

INTRODUCTION

In 2013, The Asia Foundation conducted the second nationwide survey which aims to gather first-hand opinions to help measure perceptions of security, the maintenance of peace, and justice seeking behaviors in Timor-Leste. The survey is a follow up to a similar survey conducted in 2008, and was conducted during a timely period just after the United Nations Police (UNPOL) formally withdrew from the country in December 2012.

By interviewing the Timorese general public, community leaders and members of the Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL) on a variety of security and policing related issues, the resulting data provides robust and reliable information to policymakers, the international community, the PNTL, and citizens of Timor-Leste. The survey was designed to generate empirical data to establish baselines and measure change in community-police relations and perceptions of security over time, and to aid in the development of activities to strengthen community-police cooperation in Timor-Leste. The survey uses questions from the 2008 community-police perception survey to track changes in indicators over the last five years, and adds in further lines of questioning to gauge new areas of interest.

SURVEY FINDINGS

SECURITY SITUATION

In 2013, the people of Timor-Leste are increasingly optimistic and most believe the security situation in Timor-Leste has improved over the past year. These expressions of confidence are particularly notable as they come just a few months after the departure of the United Nations’ Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), and its substantial contingent of international police officers. Generally, these positive perceptions can be understood in light of two important security milestones prior to the departure of UNMIT. The first is the peaceful execution of both the national presidential and the national parliamentary elections in 2012. The second is the perceived effectiveness of the ban on martial arts gangs and the corresponding reduction in overt fighting between gangs in the capital, Dili.

Greatest Security IssueDespite such optimism, reported rates of crimes experienced remain high and at similar levels to 2008, with community leaders almost twice as likely as the general public to experience a crime in their families. The higher incidents of community leaders experiencing crime could be due their role mediating disputes, or simply because they more access to information due to being the first contact point of many family members. Land disputes, domestic violence, and assault remain the top three crimes experienced by survey respondents. Land issues and domestic violence are perceived to be the main security threats by the general public (12% and 9%) and by community leaders (31% and 19%), while the police overwhelmingly consider domestic violence to be the greatest security threat in their areas of responsibility (51%).

3

A SURVEY OF COMMUNITY-POLICE PERCEPTIONS IN TIMOR–LESTE 2013

Survey Brief

WHAT CRIMES HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED IN THE PAST YEAR?(COMMUNITY LEADERS & GENERAL PUBLIC)

ATTACK LEADINGTO INJURY

RAPELAND GRABDOMESTICVIOLENCE

ATTACK LEADINGTO INJURY

RAPELAND GRABDOMESTICVIOLENCE

0%

10%

20%

30%

CO

MM

UN

ITY L

EAD

ERS

GEN

ERA

L PU

BLIC

12%14%

11%

30%

12%

28%

12%

6%

0%

10%

20%

30%

7% 6%

3%

9%11%

10%

7%

2%

CL: n - 140, MOE - 6.97%

GP: n - 410, MOE - 4.84%

CL: n - 467, MOE - 3.12%

GP: n - 1895, MOE - 2.25%

2008 2013

Perceptions of InsecurityWhile feelings of insecurity have reduced compared with 2008 figures, more than half the respondents polled said that they feel “somewhat” or “very” concerned about their safety in their localities. Feelings of insecurity have increased substantially among community leaders, who indicated higher levels of feeling very concerned about their safety in their localities (66% of respondents) compared with 2008 (49%). Despite these high levels of perceived insecurity, most respondents were unable to identify a main security issue in their localities.

Access to Security InformationNationally, people have greater access to security information than in 2008, with most respondents receiving their information through television, especially in Dili. However, the PNTL seem to be providing less information than before, both internally (15% in 2008; 12% in 2013) and to the general public (8% in 2008; 3% in 2013). The increase in the use of national,

4

rather than local, information sources may affect the ability of citizens to understand and articulate the security situation where they live and to identify appropriate responses when a crime occurs.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MAINTAINING SECURITY

A variety of actors continue to interact at the suku (village) level to provide security and safety. However, this survey shows a dramatic increase in the proportion of people who perceive that citizens have the primary responsibility for maintaining security in communities. This result represents a major shift away from the predominant view in 2008 that community leaders had the primary responsibility and towards a more diffused notion of individual responsibility.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING INSTITUTIONS/INDIVIDUALS HAS PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAINTAINING SECURITY IN YOUR LOCALITY? (COMMUNITY LEADERS & GENERAL PUBLIC)

CL: n - 140, MOE - 6.97%

GP: n - 410, MOE - 4.84%

2008

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

CO

MM

UN

ITY L

EAD

ERS

GEN

ERA

L PU

BLIC

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

CITIZENS COMMUNITYLEADER

ELDERS MILITARY PNTL SUCO CHIEF DON’T KNOW

2008

2013

12%

66%

25%

15%

11%

1% 0% 0% 0% 0%2%

21%

15%

31%

8%

51%

19%21%

18%

5%1%

38%

1% 2%2%

15%19%

0%

2008 DATA ONLY

CITIZENS COMMUNITYLEADER

ELDERS MILITARY PNTL SUCO CHIEF DON’T KNOW

CL: n - 467, MOE - 3.12%

GP: n - 1895, MOE - 2.25%

2013

JUSTICE-SEEKING BEHAVIOR In general, the number of victims of crime whose first response was to seek PNTL assistance is only slightly higher than the number who approached suku or aldeia (sub-village) chiefs first for all crimes, indicating a high rate of unreported crime. The data shows a clear shift since 2008 in the use of community based resolution rather than the formal justice sector. Despite 39% of victims first seeking redress for crimes through the PNTL, the vast majority of cases (75%) are eventually resolved at the suku level through mediation and traditional justice mechanisms. These findings highlight a disconnect between the perceptions of the PNTL and the behavior of citizens: 88% of police officers believe citizens would go to the PNTL first after experiencing a crime, and only 7% think the suku or aldeia chief would be the first person citizens seek assistance from. However, it is clear that the general public

JUSTICE-SEEKING BEHAVIOR

5

A SURVEY OF COMMUNITY-POLICE PERCEPTIONS IN TIMOR–LESTE 2013

Survey Brief

believes and acts in a very different manner than the PNTL perceive. For example when the general public was asked what they would do IF they experienced a crime and what they actually did, in most cases the suku or aldeia chief were accessed at an even higher rate than responses to hypothetical crimes suggested they would be.

What would/did you do first after experiencing a certain crime? General Public 2013

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? CRIMES WHAT DID YOU DO?

PNTL SUKU/ALDEIA CHIEF PNTL SUKU/ALDEIA CHIEF

15.4% 51.1% Land 18.9% 61.5%

32.8% 29.0% Domestic Violence 28.8% 35.6%

13.9% 40.2% Theft 38.4% 35.3%

47.5% 33.6% Extortion 30.5% 44.0%

Experience with PNTL AssistanceVictims who sought police assistance reported increased professionalism by the PNTL, with a significant reduction in reports of physical and verbal abuse (2008: 21% vs 2013: 5%). However, in a significant departure from 2008 figures, a majority of victims who sought police assistance were referred back to community leaders for the eventual resolution of their cases, and only a small fraction of cases reported by respondents (1%) were carried forward through the formal justice system. Compared with 2008, satisfaction with the outcome of seeking assistance from the PNTL has increased among both the general public and community leaders. Despite most crimes and disputes being resolved through customary practice, the PNTL still seem to play a role in local problem-solving, and were involved in some way in over half (58%) of the reported successful resolutions.

PNTL BACKGROUND AND PERFORMANCEIn terms of police performance, the 2013 survey finds that general public and community leader perceptions of the PNTL have not only improved in the past year, but have also dramatically improved compared with the 2008 survey. When asked to assess their own levels of performance, an overwhelming majority of PNTL officers believe they are performing well in maintaining security in their areas of operation. While members of the PNTL expressed an overwhelmingly high level of satisfaction with their current jobs, a majority of interviewed officers indicated that interference by local elites and serious inadequacies in staffing levels, communications equipment, and vehicles are the most serious challenges to maintaining security in the areas in which they work. This is mirrored by general public and community leader perceptions that the main challenges facing police in their communities are a lack of resources (such as equipment and staff), the inability to reach all areas within a district, and inadequate training.

Despite these challenges, general public perceptions indicate very few reservations about the PNTL’s human rights record or public allegations of high level corruption within the institution. Only 9% of the general public indicated they believed the PNTL were sometimes or always corrupt. In contrast, one in four police officers believe members of the PNTL are corrupt (either sometimes or always corrupt), with the most common form of corruption cited being officers’ misuse of their position for personal gain.

6

PNTL AND CITIZEN INTERACTION

Despite high levels of confidence in the police, limited contact with the police remains a serious challenge. Only one in ten general public respondents (12%) said that either they or a member of their family had contact with the PNTL in the last year, unchanged since 2008. Community leaders are more than three times as likely as general public respondents to have had contact with the PNTL in the past year – reaffirming the belief that community leaders play a central role in local security and dispute resolution. Among community leaders and general public respondents, reporting a crime was the most common reason for contact with the PNTL; among police respondents, awareness programs (87%) organized by the PNTL was the most common reason cited for contact with citizens.

At the district level, police accounts of interaction with citizens were highest in the district of Aileu, where 34% of police claimed they interact with citizens in the course of undertaking routine patrols, while only 13% of PNTL respondents from Viqueque district reported interacting with citizens in this way. Contrastingly, only 1% and 3% of general public respondents from Aileu and Viqueque districts respectively reported the same.

COMMUNITY-POLICE COOPERATIONIn the context of maintaining security, a majority of police respondents consider citizens in the areas in which they work as partners in combating crime, almost doubling the proportion that believed the same in 2008 (2013:86%; 2008:47%). The general public’s perceptions largely support police accounts of cooperation with community leaders, and a majority of suku and aldeia chiefs (78%) indicated they are either somewhat or very actively involved in helping the police fight crime. The 2013 survey found that all three target respondent groups support an active role for suku chiefs in facilitating dialogue and cooperation between police officers and their host communities. Overall, there has been a shift in the perceptions and actions of the general public in favor of accessing suku chiefs over both the PNTL and community elders.

Community PolicingAlthough the vast majority PNTL officers (89%) stated that they are familiar with the concept of community policing, only 44% of police respondents (an increase from 2008) reported having received any special training in community policing. While 81% of police respondents claimed that “community policing principles” were being applied in the area they serve, this is a decrease from 93% in 2008. The data suggest that while there are increased levels of community police training, there is a lack of clarity on how to apply the principles in an operational manner.

JUSTICE-SEEKING BEHAVIOR

7

A SURVEY OF COMMUNITY-POLICE PERCEPTIONS IN TIMOR–LESTE 2013

Survey Brief

CONCLUSION The general public’s continued expressions of confidence in the PNTL could be interpreted as evidence of strong community-police relations and of public approval of the services the PNTL delivers. However, the survey results provide several reasons to give pause before drawing such conclusions. Although almost all interviewed PNTL officers stated they understand the concept of community policing, a disconnect with practice was observed: less than half the number of police respondents who had received special training in community policing reported applying community policing principles in their localities.

The data poses serious questions about the role of the PNTL in providing formal justice solutions and about how the general public’s expectations and satisfaction rates may change as more PNTL are assigned to the village level but do not provide requested services. Based on the high rates of insecurity reported by the general public and community leaders, one of the main service requests seems to be for the PNTL to provide greater security, which in this context is taken to mean crime prevention. To date, the strategy of the PNTL has been to provide order (i.e. response), but the institution has had little operational ability to contribute to prevention. As the PNTL moves closer to communities, and as communities’ demands for problem identification and prevention increase, the PNTL will need to develop a structure that encourages community engagement before conflicts erupt – not just in response to crimes that have already occurred – if they hope to maintain their high levels of public support.

MethodologyA total of 3,106 people were interviewed from all 13 districts of Timor-Leste. Three distinct survey questionnaires were used based on the 2008 survey – one for voter-age general public respondents (n=1891), one for community leaders (n=467), and one for members of the PNTL (n=748) – were prepared, and collection was conducted over a period of 51 days from March 2 to April 22, 2013. The lowest sampling unit was the aldeia (hamlet), from which 10 interviews were conducted divided equally among men and women. Random sampling methods were used to select the suku and aldeia where the interviews would be conducted, with households again being randomly selected in each aldeia. Oversampling was conducted in six districts, Aileu, Baucau, Bobonaro, Dili, Manatuto, and Viqueque.

About The Asia FoundationThe Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our programs address critical issues affecting Asia in the 21st century—governance and law, economic development, women’s empowerment, environment, and regional cooperation. In addition, our Books for Asia and professional exchanges are among the ways we encourage Asia’s continued development as a peaceful, just, and thriving region of the world.

Headquartered in San Francisco, The Asia Foundation works through a network of offices in 18 Asian countries and in Washington, DC. Working with public and private partners, the Foundation receives funding from a diverse group of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, foundations, corporations, and individuals. In 2012, we provided nearly $100 million in direct program support and distributed textbooks and other educational materials valued at over $30 million.

8