Ex-chief backs police autonomy<\/p>\n
By Edith Hartanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In its 52nd year, the National Police have been
\nthrough many vicissitudes in their attempts to \"protect and serve
\nthe public\".<\/p>\n
Since the enactment of Police Law No. 13\/1961 which stipulates
\nthe police's integration into the Armed Forces (ABRI), many
\nthings have changed. As a consequences of being part of the most
\npowerful social and political institution in this country, the
\npolice often have to become a political tool of the government
\nand and ABRI.<\/p>\n
In several cases, it is believed the police were forced to
\ntake responsibility for other parties' -- including the military
\nand the authorities -- misconduct.<\/p>\n
The idea to separate the police from ABRI is not new. And
\nrecent cases such as the abduction of activists and the Trisakti
\nshooting incident have once again prompted out the idea, which
\nquickly gained support from scholars, experts and high-ranking
\npolice officers.<\/p>\n
Gen. (ret) Awaloedin Djamin, who was National Police chief
\nfrom 1978 to 1982, revealed his views on police autonomy to The
\nJakarta Post recently.<\/p>\n
\"I tell you this. We have been fighting for police autonomy
\nfor dozens of years. There is no other country in the world which
\nhas its police under the military.<\/p>\n
\"The police have to be independent in undertaking their duty
\nto uphold the criminal justice system. They cannot be interfered
\nwith by other political or economic influences.\"<\/p>\n
More details on his views are revealed here.<\/p>\n
Question: Why should the police be separated from the Armed
\nForces? Is it possible to realize this idea at the moment?<\/p>\n
Answer: Any police in the world are part of the country's
\nhistory, political system and governmental system. Our police
\nwere declared existent on Aug. 21, 1945 as the Police of the
\nRepublic of Indonesia by IP M. Jasin (Special Police Commander of
\nEast Java), basically because the police also fought for
\nIndonesian Independence.<\/p>\n
July 1, 1946 -- known as Bhayangkara Day -- was the official
\nbirth of the Indonesian National Police.<\/p>\n
National police forces have become a global trend in the last
\n40 years. Even federal countries such as Germany and Malaysia
\ncoordinate their police. They wear the same uniforms and carry
\nthe same guns, but most of all, they are not part of the military
\nforces.<\/p>\n
From 1946 to 1961 our police were responsible directly to the
\nhead of state.<\/p>\n
But after the enactment of Police Law No. 13\/1961, which
\nstated that the police are part of ABRI, everything changed. In
\n1967, the police started to lose their autonomy as our
\noperational budget and planning were designed by ABRI
\nheadquarters.<\/p>\n
Since then until the present, the police have always been left
\nin a corner.<\/p>\n
To do their duty in implementing the criminal justice system,
\nthe police need to stand as a nondepartmental institution, such
\nas the State Prosecutors Office. If not, they will easily become
\nvulnerable to interference from other powerful interests.<\/p>\n
To fulfill their duty as protector and server of the people,
\nthe police must be flexible as front-line officers. The essential
\nethic is humanity, not \"killed or to be killed\" as is the case
\nfor the military.<\/p>\n
These differences (between the police and ABRI) made it
\ndifficult for the police to develop. The police operational
\ncosts, planning, salaries and welfare budgets were set like the
\nother three military branches. In fact, the budget have been cut
\nmany times here and there. The police need to undertake their
\nduties everyday, not only in times of war like the military.<\/p>\n
For budgeting purposes, the police is under the minister of
\ndefense and as far as planning is concerned, it is under the ABRI
\ncommander. How complicated ..<\/p>\n
Imagine this. The police budget is set (by ABRI) based on the
\npolice-to-population ratio, which is 1:1,200 nationally (one
\npolice officer for 1,200 residents). This is crazy! The ideal
\nratio, based on United Nations standards, is 1:400. Still, the
\npolice get the smallest part of the cake, but with a list of
\nduties the size of a mountain.<\/p>\n
That is why, to reach the ideal state, the police have to be
\nseparated from ABRI and gain back their autonomy. So then we can
\nmeet the police's needs and determine the budget ourselves. I
\nthink it could be realized, if there is strong political will,
\nespecially from Gen. Wiranto (Armed Forces commander\/minister of
\ndefense) and other decision makers.<\/p>\n
Q: You said the police were put in a corner since they were
\nintegrated into ABRI. Could you elaborate?<\/p>\n
A: I can give you a bunch of examples on this matter. There are
\ntwo things which caused this: the centralization of the police
\nbudget in ABRI and the beginning of military cooperation such as
\nthe formation of Defense Nation Groups (DNG).<\/p>\n
ABRI gets grants for DNG. So Indonesia could receive, for
\ninstance, Nomad armored airplanes, for free. But because the
\npolice are treated as part of the military, the police get
\nnothing.<\/p>\n
In budgeting, here's an example. When I was the national
\npolice chief, the police budget was only Rp 4.5 billion for the
\nwhole country. We had thousands of sectors to be supported,
\nhundreds of bases, dormitories and schools.<\/p>\n
I fought to get more. I told the minister of defense\/armed
\nforces commander at that time (M.Jusuf): \"Well, what kind of
\npolice does this country have?\" and he raised the police budget
\nto Rp 19 billion for the next year.<\/p>\n
I said \"Thank you Sir.. you gave the police a budget raise.
\nBut I want to ask you, how much do you spend on F-16s and other
\nwarfare equipment? It's not that I'm not grateful. It's just not
\nfair.\" And later he increased the budget again... ha ha... But
\nstill, the police are treated like orphans.<\/p>\n
Once in 1981, we were to get two 400-ton patrol ships, a move
\nthat had been approved by the president. But when PT PAL, the
\nstate-owned ship manufacturer, completed the construction of the
\nships, both of them were granted to the Navy, not us!<\/p>\n
When I asked about this, they said that it all depended on the
\nABRI headquarters' planning and budget decisions. Even when the
\nNavy bought 39 German armored ships, they did not return our two
\nships.<\/p>\n
In education, the police was also treated differently. I had
\nto search for oversees scholarships myself for my officers...
\nfrom Germany or England.. When I got a grant, it all had to pass
\nthrough the ABRI headquarters first before it got to the police.<\/p>\n
Once I got two million German marks for the police, but guess
\nwhat I received later. I asked Benny Moerdani (then the head of
\nthe Armed Forces Intelligence) where the money went.<\/p>\n
\"What are you doing with my (police) grant?\" Eventually Benny
\nsaid that the grant had been cut. \"Well Sir. ...you have got only
\n700,000 marks.\" Imagine, they took away 1.3 million marks.<\/p>\n
Another example is when the police was recommended to receive
\ntraining from GSG-9 (a special German antiterrorist squad). But
\nonce again, that proposal had to go through ABRI headquarters
\nfirst.<\/p>\n
I was the one who got (the recommendation for) the course, but
\nlook who took the chance... it was grabbed by the Army. Well, it
\nwas Prabowo Subianto (now chief of the Armed Forces staff and
\ncommand school) who took the course. Now people are afraid of him
\nbecause he's a master of antiterrorist warfare.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you think the police are ready to detach themselves from
\nABRI?<\/p>\n
A: Well. Sooner or later the police have to be independent and
\nundertake their true function, won't they? Even if the police
\nbecome independent now, it will take at least 10 years to work
\nthings out. The police have so many problems to resolve. So if
\nnot now, when?<\/p>\n
The most important thing to do now is to improve the police's
\nhuman resources. The recruitment system within the Armed Forces
\nAcademy must be changed. It is no secret that bright cadets, even
\nthough they might want to join the police, end up joining a
\nmilitary branch, particularly the Army. The other military forces
\n(the Navy and the Air Force) have complained about the
\nrecruitment system too.<\/p>\n
Thus, in this reform movement, the timing is perfect. The
\npolice also badly need laws reformed plus political will from all
\nrelated parties. The Armed Forces commander said that he wants
\nthe best for the police, the best for everyone. So I hope he
\nkeeps his word.<\/p>\n
The police is needed by the people. They have a love-hate
\nrelationship... the police face obstacles doing their duty,
\nbecause financially we are poor. Some people try to get above the
\nlaw, and are willing to pay for it. This is a mutual situation.<\/p>\n
If the police want to separate from ABRI, they also have to
\nwork on their \"mentality.\" They have to get rid of, for instance,
\ntheir mentality of being corrupt.<\/p>\n
With greater autonomy, the police could get better salaries,
\nan adequate budget and therefore serve the people well.<\/p>\n
The public have to know that there is no service for free. If
\nthe police have new targets, hopefully this could boost their
\nprofessionalism.<\/p>\n
Q: It is believed that in certain cases, the police often become
\nscapegoats as they should be held responsible for the misconduct
\nof other parties. What do you think about this?<\/p>\n
A: I won't use that term (scapegoat). I think it is just a side
\neffect, the result of the police's dependence on the Armed
\nForces. This would not have happened if the police had stood
\nindependent as part of the criminal justice system and upholder
\nof social order. The police's duty is to be an investigator and
\nenforcer of the law.<\/p>\n
But look what happens. The military branches interfere with
\nthe police. They act as if they are police officers. This is
\nwrong and must be redressed soon.<\/p>\n
The Trisakti case is one example of what really happens
\nbetween the police and ABRI. When command speaks stronger than
\nthe law... see what happens. I won't speak more... it's too
\npainful.<\/p>\n
Well, I just hope for the best. I've stated my opinion to
\nWiranto. It's all up to him now.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ex-chief-backs-police-autonomy-1447893297",
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