Detectives sharpen skills at environment course<\/p>\n
SERPONG, West Java (JP): Cases of pollution and environmental
\ndamage will continue to increase if reports and complaints are
\nnot handled seriously, National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo
\nWidodo said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Different perspectives among law enforcers and a lack of
\nskills and coordination are the main constraints to coping with
\nenvironmental cases, he admitted.<\/p>\n
"All these can impede investigations and the completion of
\ndossiers on pollution and environmental damage to be submitted to
\ncourts," he said in his opening address of a first national
\ncourse for police detectives on environmental law enforcement.<\/p>\n
Out of the 104 cases which have surfaced since the
\nenvironmental law was passed in 1982, many are still under
\ninvestigation, Dibyo said.<\/p>\n
Only 12 cases were settled in court while others were settled
\nby administrative sanctions or mediation, Dibyo said.<\/p>\n
The four-day course which runs through Friday is being
\nattended by 88 heads of detectives and their staff from across
\nthe country. It is being held by the National Police and the
\nEnvironmental Impact Management Agency.<\/p>\n
This is the first educational session on the environment for
\npolice, while other law enforcers such as prosecutors have often
\nbeen sent overseas to study the subject.<\/p>\n
Through the course Dibyo expressed the hope that the
\nparticipants "would be able to overcome different perspectives
\namong law enforcers which until now still stand in the way of
\nenforcing the environmental law".<\/p>\n
Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said the course
\nis aimed at improving the detectives' skills that will enable
\nthem to conduct investigations on environmental cases faster and
\nthoroughly.<\/p>\n
The result would produce "high quality dossiers for smoother
\nsettlement of criminal cases at the next stage, prosecution and
\nthe courts," Sarwono told the detectives.<\/p>\n
He said later that administrative sanctions by local
\ngovernments have proved to be an effective alternative to court
\nsettlement.<\/p>\n
"If local administrations withdraw operation licenses (of
\nfirms proved of polluting the environment) more often, this would
\nbe effective enough in instilling compliance with environmental
\nrules," he said.<\/p>\n
Sarwono said if the course could contribute to eradicating the
\ndifferent perspectives that Dibyo mentioned, "police dossiers
\nwould not have to go back and forth to the prosecutor or even
\nface rejection."<\/p>\n
The different perspectives are mainly the basis of
\nprosecution. While the environmental law rules against any act of
\npollution, prosecutors feel they must have material evidence such
\nas clinical symptoms to prove harm from pollution.<\/p>\n
"Do we have to wait until people are paralyzed, for instance,
\nto prove that they were exposed to hazardous substances?" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"The main changes to the 1982 environmental law which are
\nbeing worked out, will be a stronger basis for prosecution
\nwithout the need for material evidence," he said.<\/p>\n
One case under investigation is the case of PT Panji
\nContinental Pratama in Kapuk, Cengkareng district, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Last month lethal fumes were allegedly produced by the
\ncompany's waste which was disposed of by a factory worker into
\npublic gutters. One woman died and seven others were hospitalized
\nin the incident. According to Sarwono the factory could be
\npunished under the environmental law. Pollution charges against
\nthe management of the briefcase and suitcase factory are still
\nbeing investigated.<\/p>\n
A police source told The Jakarta Post that the fact that the
\nfactory is in located in an industrial, not residential, area
\nraises difficulties in pressing charges against the factory's
\nmanagement.<\/p>\n
"This is one of the problems we hope to learn to solve through
\nthis course," he said. (anr)<\/p>",
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