There was a book I read a few years ago that was very popular at the time called \u201cFreakonomics\u201d which dealt with some of the wilder outposts of markets. One chapter I recall was titled \u201cWhy do drug dealers still live with their moms?\u201d and was based on the PhD research of a guy who spent two years studying the drug market in a Chicago public housing project. It was fascinating reading.<\/p>\n
If ever there was a subject for a thesis \u2013 probably an MBA \u2013 it would be the economics of this Polresta remand jail. I can’t think of another business model in the world that could change its suppliers, management, staff and customers every 90 days and operate at close to 100 percent efficiency despite flouting every rule in a heavily regulated\u00a0market.<\/p>\n
Because Polresta is a remand jail, inmates can only spend a maximum 90 days interned\u00a0before either being charged and moved to the main prison, or released. Every day one or\u00a0two prisoners move out, and a new intake replace them. These are the customers.<\/p>\n
The management is elected by the inmates in a very democratic process \u2013 there is an actual ballot. The winner and runner-up become the \u201cBoss\u201d and his deputy and they are\u00a0responsible for keeping the business running and enforcing discipline. In my time here\u00a0we’ve had two Bosses \u2013 both obviously among the toughest guys in jail, but both too\u00a0also natural leaders who only resorted to violence on specific occasions.<\/p>\n
The Bosses handpick their management team \u2013 an accountant, security, logistics \u2013 and\u00a0they have some privileges such as being allowed to roam the corridors at all times instead of being confined to their cells during lockup. They’re known as ‘the Boys’. On signs listing prohibited items scattered throughout the jail, the first things listed are\u00a0\u201cmoney, food and handphones,\u201d but without access to those you wouldn’t last very long\u00a0in here.<\/p>\n
Firstly food. The system provides you with two meals a day \u2013 both meals consist of around 300 gm of rice, a sliver of chicken or half a hard-boiled egg and a tablespoon of veg. It comes at 9 am and 5 pm, wrapped individually in a brown paper triangle. You eat communally on the floor, with your hands. If you didn’t have access to other sources of nutrition, you’d waste away pretty quickly, but the guards allow almost unlimited\u00a0amounts of food to be brought in on visiting days so that’s how we stock up on fruit,\u00a0coffee, toiletries etc.<\/p>\n
The Boys exact a ‘tax’ on everything your visitors give you, but in fairness this is redistributed to inmates who have nothing \u2013 and there’s many of them. The guards can\u00a0be extremely fickle, depending on their level of supervision. Last week, for instance,\u00a0they confiscated every box of cigarettes (worth about $1.50 a packet) and later sold them\u00a0back to the inmates for $1.<\/p>\n
If you have a visitor (no matter how many) you have to pay 25k rupiah (about $2) to the\u00a0Boys later that night and a further 25k if you were allowed to meet them physically in\u00a0the guardhouse. This money goes to the guards later.\u00a0Twice a day the boys organise \u201cetep-etep\u201d, a meaningless word which is prison slang for\u00a0takeaway. Orders are taken for food stalls outside the jail and one of the guards will get\u00a0the goods. Everything cost 25k regardless of what you order, so they cut a nice profit\u00a0given most things ordered cost less than 20k.<\/p>\n
You have to pay 50k a week to the Boys to rent your cell. This money goes toward buying potable water to drink and we go through about 125 litres a day of that.<\/p>\n
Each day every cell must pay 25k to be \u201clet out early\u201d. Officially we are confined to cells from 10 am – 4 pm but this fee, which goes to the guards, allows us to roam the corridors from noon.\u00a0Each cell does clean-up duty once a week and inmates are responsible for keeping the\u00a0common areas spic and span and emptying the garbage. Inmates who are genuinely\u00a0destitute \u2013 and there are a few \u2013 are assigned this more regularly. I’m excused clean-up\u00a0because I’m in a two-man cell and therefore pay more corridor tax than the others.<\/p>\n
Of the 90 inmates, I’d say around a quarter have phones. These are collected for safekeeping by the Boys between 6 am – 12 pm, when the chance of a raid is highest, for\u00a0which you pay 40k per week. For the rest of the time you are responsible for your phone, but if its discovered you’re likely to get a beating as it invariably lends to a series\u00a0of raids. Fortunately the guards usually give fair warning of a raid, and any confiscated\u00a0phone is usually back in circulation a day or two later, for a price! There are no power points in the jail so you have to pay 40k per charge to the boys to get\u00a0it done. A couple of them, the smallest in the prison are literally flung into gaps in the\u00a0roof where they tap into the wiring with crocodile clips to power up battery packs. Electric shocks are frequent!<\/p>\n
While the Boss undoubtedly skims from the top for smokes, etc, all the money collected\u00a0goes towards paying off the guards, or cleaning materials, or water etc. Financial records\u00a0are painstakingly kept in neat ledgers and no credit is allowed.<\/p>\n
The knowledge of the system is passed on through every rotation of remand. It works the same with the guards, who are also rotated every 90 days. At first they’re officious and sticklers for the rules, but a veteran will take him under his wing and start sharing the largesse. The system seems to benefit everyone.<\/p>\n
Because I have friends who have spoilt me and bring me everything I need, I reckon I spend around 300-400k ($30-$40) a week in here. It will cost more when I move to Kerobokan, apparently, where you can get anything for a price \u2013 private cell, TV, aircon.\u00a0I’m told that for three million rupiah \u2013 about $250 \u2013 you can even have a day out, accompanied by a guard.\u00a0I wonder if any of them play golf?<\/p>\n
I’m told I’m due to move to Kerobokan around Dec 6, but I’m still not sure what the final charges will be. This is still being ‘negotiated’ between my lawyers and the prosecution, and we still have to deal with the judge.<\/p>\n
I’ve finally got rid of all the prison illnesses I acquired in the first weeks and I’m physically strong. I’m trying to stay positive and thanks to all your support I’m bearing up.<\/p>\n
Thanks to all of you for caring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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