An exemplary move<\/p>\n
Five members of the National Police's elite Mobile Brigade
\n(Brimob) were pilloried by their commander, Brig. Gen. Firman
\nGani, who stripped the officers of their berets and corps
\ninsignias during a televised ceremony in Jakarta on Monday. The
\npublic shame the five sergeants experienced at being so
\ndishonorably discharged, however, can hardly be compared to the
\nshame they brought to Brimob.<\/p>\n
The five, whose job it is to protect and serve the public,
\nhave been implicated in a recent robbery and murder in Jakarta.
\nTheir alleged participation in this crime may have caused
\nirreparable damage to the police's reputation at a time when
\npublic trust and respect for the police are already at their
\nlowest.<\/p>\n
There is another reason why the Mobile Brigade should be
\nparticularly angry with these five officers. The alleged crime
\noccurred as some of their colleagues were putting their lives on
\nthe line fighting separatist rebels in Aceh. Hours after the five
\nwere discharged, their colleagues held a smaller ceremony to pay
\ntheir respects to the latest Brimob officer killed in Aceh. The
\nfive sergeants have not only betrayed the public's trust, they
\nhave also betrayed their colleagues.<\/p>\n
These officers' public dismissal was a laudable move that
\nsends a message to the public that the Mobile Brigade and the
\nNational Police will not tolerate criminal behavior from its
\nofficers. The five sergeants have been handed over to the
\ncivilian police to stand trial for their alleged crime.<\/p>\n
This is just the kind of damage control exercise the
\nIndonesian Military would do well to emulate to earn the public
\ntrust and respect which it has also lost. One reason the
\nreputation of our security forces, both the police and the
\nmilitary, has been so badly tarnished is the public impression
\nthat our law enforcement officers are above the law.<\/p>\n
There may have been cases where officers were discharged and
\nlater convicted for crimes they committed, but their commanders,
\nprobably for fear of tarnishing the reputation of the corps,
\nprefer to keep these cases out of the public glare. The problem
\nwith this approach is that the public is never informed about
\nwhich cases have been settled, and whether the guilty parties
\nhave been duly punished for their crimes.<\/p>\n
Being less than transparent also gives rise to suspicion that
\nsome criminal cases involving security personnel have been closed
\nsimply because the perpetrators have family connections with
\npeople higher up in command. Certainly, nothing has been heard
\nabout the drug case involving Second Lt. Agus Isrok of the Army's
\nSpecial Force. The son of former Army chief of staff Gen.
\nSoebagyo was arrested by the Jakarta Police during a drug bust in
\na Jakarta hotel in August. But nothing has been heard since the
\nArmy took over the case from the police.<\/p>\n
The argument for greater transparency could equally apply to
\ncases of human rights violations involving members of the
\nmilitary and police, particularly those cases involving top
\nofficers. The police and the military cannot pretend these human
\nrights abuses never occurred, especially when the evidence is out
\nin the open for every one to see, such as in Aceh and East Timor.
\nNo matter how damaging an admission of guilt would be, it is
\nstill far less damaging than pretending, or worse still, denying
\nthat these abuses ever occurred. The police and the military
\ncannot stretch the principle of esprit de corps so far as to
\nundermine their own reputation and credibility.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/an-exemplary-move-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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