Just three weeks into the job, new Kuta Police chief Wimboko, 31, is on duty day and night to make sure the hot tourist zone remains trouble-free. The single Jambi, Sumatra, native shared his day with Ashtra Effendy.

I wake at 6am and shower, and think about the day ahead and the things I have to do. I’m not married yet so I don’t have a wife to make me breakfast or prepare my clothes for me.

I put my uniform on and around 6:30 I go to the station. I sometimes stay at the Mataram Police Dormitory Complex but most of the time I live in a small room behind my office at the police station.

I feel if I’m close to my officers I will be more responsive to what is happening in the station as my staff can contact me right away.  I ask my cadets to bring me some breakfast, always nasi campur (rice with meat and vegetables) from a foodstall next to the station.

Then I have a morning meeting with my officers. I lead it on Mondays and Thursdays while the deputy chief leads it on the other days. I like to motivate my offers, and I think it’s important to show leadership – it’s an art.

At 7.15 I return to my office, where there will be a pile of paperwork waiting for me, anything from public complaints to criminal cases. I’ll spend some time looking over new reports of crime that have been filed.

Lawyers often visit me and talk about their clients in detention. If we arrest someone we hold a press conference and invite reporters to cover it. Solving a crime is like playing chess: First you get an adrenaline rush and then satisfaction.

I’m a funny person. I like to joke when I meet the press or my staff. I hope if I’m open to them they will trust me. I don’t want to have a wall between me and my officers.

I have lunch around 1pm, often the same as I had for breakfast. But sometimes friends invite me to nice restaurants. My favourite food is Padang, but in Bali my favourite is ayam betutu (steamed chicken). Also the fish soup at Pak Bang’s in Sanur is delicious.

Around 1.30pm is a busy time on the streets, and I patrol in the station’s car and stroll around Kuta to check on my officers. At 3.30pm I’m back at the office and deal with more paperwork and trials being held at the court. Officers will often drop in to talk about their work.

When the sun goes down that’s my cue to finish at the office. If I don’t have an invitation from the community, such as a traditional ceremony, I might have a nap until 7.30pm. I’m not from Bali but I have to respect the culture and the invitations. My father is from Purworejo in Central Java and my mother is from Malang in West Java. But they were transmigrated to Jambi in Sumatra under Suharto’s regime. So I grew up in Jambi in a Javanese village.

At night I patrol around Kuta and find out how my staff’s work is going, and get some dinner around 9. I’ll have oxtail or chicken soup. Since my hobby is playing soccer, during the World Cup watching the matches is on my schedule. I support our previous ruling country, the Netherlands.

Sometimes I will stop by local cultural and community leaders and ask them how the police are performing in their areas. I do the same with businesspeople, and get their feedback on how to improve security. Because I’ve not been in this position a month yet, this is a trust-building phase. My mobile-phone number is available at the front office at the station so that people can call me. After all, we serve the people.

Around 11pm I go to Jl Legian, the most crowded street at that time. I look for situations, and see what’s happening. I also stop at Poppies Lane once or twice during the night to make sure everything is under control.

At midnight I let my officers continue their work in Legian, and I finish up and go to sleep. A few minutes before I go to sleep, I think about what I have done right and wrong during the day. I try to fix my errors and make my tomorrow a better day.