The History of Java, v. 1-2

by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

23. It is the duty of heads of villages, generally, to preserve tranquillity, as far as their authority extends, to obey zealously the orders of their superiors, to furnish every useful information, and, in short, to contribute all in their power to the establishment and preservation of a good state of police.

24. Their rewards for this will be a certain portion of land in each village, and the favouring eye and protection of government.

25. The police officers of divisions are to be considered as immediately under the authority of the Bopátis. They will furnish to these all such accounts, reports, &c. as may be required, and will act always on the orders received from them, or, of course, directly from the Resident himself.

26. To the Bopátis, or chiefs of districts, they will forward every six months abstract accounts of births, marriages, and deaths which have occurred in their division, and of the general state of cultivation and population, with such remarks accompanying them as may seem requisite.

27. Of these and other papers forms will be furnished them, and they will prepare them from the general account obtained from heads of villages, whom they will, at any time, require to supply them with such further information as may be deemed necessary.

28. On every Saturday they will give in to the Bopáti, or chief of the district, a detailed statement of the occurrences of the preceding week, the crimes committed, offenders apprehended, number of new settlers, their employment, from whence arrived, what individuals have emigrated, causes of emigration, and, in short, whatever has happened out of the common track of occurrences.

29. The officers of divisions shall be held responsible for the due administration of the police within their respective jurisdictions; and to enable them better to execute their assigned duties, the heads of villages are placed immediately under their authority. They shall accordingly be watchful that these vigilantly and zealously perform such services as may be allotted to their situation; and they shall report fully to the Bopáti of the district, on the conduct of any heads of villages who may prove neglectful of their charge, or in any way appear remiss in the execution of the duties entrusted to them.

30. They shall, on no account, exert their police authority in any undue interference with the collection of the revenues, that being considered a distinct department, to which they will only render their assistance when called upon under the distinct rules laid down in another Regulation for the guidance of their conduct in it; here only it is considered that they are to lend their aid at such times, and in such manner, as may be expressly pointed out to them in orders from their superiors. But they are at all times, on a regular application being made to them by the inferior officers of revenue, to take charge of, and give effectual escort to, treasure passing from or through their divisions; and after receipt of the same, they will be held responsible for it until such treasure shall have been by them delivered to the next constituted authority.

31. The peons, and other inferior servants attached to their offices, shall, of course, be employed in the serving summonses, apprehending offenders, giving escort, and in other regular duties; but when not in any way thus engaged, they shall, as leisure admits, be sent to make the rounds of the division; acquiring, by this means, not only competent information of all that is transacted within it, but serving also, by this occasional and uncertain visitation, materially to prevent the undertaking of nefarious acts.

32. As before observed, the officers of divisions, and those subordinate to them, shall only, of their own authority, apprehend such persons as are taken actually in the commission of crime. They are never empowered to seize others (with the exception of those mentioned in Section 18 of this Regulation) but when a written order for that purpose has been received from their superiors, or when a regular charge of an original nature has been given in against them by any respectable individual.