Local Community Police (Satpol PP) in Ubud, Gianyar Regency undertook surprise sweeps in the Catus Pata Area that, at the end of the day, netted 23 beggars.The sweeps were undertaken due to the beggars’ violation of Regional Law Number 12 of 1992 on cleanliness and public order. The raids and round up of beggars were led directly by the head of operations for public order in Gianyar. Of the 23 beggars taken into custody, the majority were children under the age of 10, with all those detained originating from Karangasem. The beggars are seen by officials as a blight on the tranquility and comfort of the tourist center of Ubud and a threat to public order. This is more the case in Ubud, a tourism area mostly visited by foreign travelers, where the beggars can upset their tranquility. All the beggars netted in the sweep were taken to the Satpol PP Gianyar office for processing before being handed over the to Social Service Department of the Regency. The chief of the SatPol PP in Gianyar said his officers are largely powerless against the beggars, able only to urge the public not to give donations to roadside beggars. Most of the beggars were capable of other employments, with children being added to the “begging crews” to play on the sympathies of tourists. The SatPol PP chief lamented that once children learn the art of begging it is virtually impossible to lure them to more meaningful work.The beggars are send to their home villages, but the attraction of Gianyar as a tourism area removes any reluctance on their part to return (and beg) again.
