Police Academy berated over shortcomings<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): A retired police officer has criticized the
\nPolice Academy for failing to produce officers with enough
\nexpertise to cope with complex crimes.<\/p>\n
\"Garbage in, garbage out,\" Maj. Gen. Koesparmono Irsan, a
\nformer deputy to the national police chief for operational
\naffairs, told a seminar on police professionalism on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"The amount of garbage in at the Police Academy and training
\ncenters is unbelievable. You can imagine the amount of garbage
\nout,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Irsan, who is currently rector of a police university in
\nJakarta, said he had experienced the problem first-hand. \"There
\nwas a student from a school for the intellectually handicapped,
\nanother who didn't know English, and yet another who died during
\ntraining because he hadn't passed health tests.<\/p>\n
\"Those students entered the academy through some powerful
\nconnections,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Irsan questioned the curriculum of the Police Academy.
\n\"There's too little discussion on law, and there is too much on
\nthe history and role of the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
\"There's also more than enough discussion on social politics,
\ndespite the fact that knowledge of law is much more necessary for
\nthe work of any policeman,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The seminar, attended by police officers and journalists,
\ndiscussed how crime in future would be more organized, and how
\nthere would be more \"white collar\" crime.<\/p>\n
\"Police must be more professional and independent,\" Irsan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Legal expert J.E. Sahetapy seconded most of Irsan's opinions,
\nbut stressed the need for an independent national police force,
\nfree from the Armed Forces. He also said the police needed more
\nfinancial support and laws to regulate them.<\/p>\n
He said the police should be able to decide independently what
\nconstituted a crime and what did not, without the dictation of
\nany other power.<\/p>\n
Sahetapy said the police force must get more funding to become
\ncleaner and more professional.<\/p>\n
\"There's a great amount of unnecessary financing in this
\ncountry which could be given to the police,\" he said, citing the
\npurchase of secondhand ships and the aircraft industry as
\nexamples of wasted funding.<\/p>\n
He said the police should be equipped with appropriate laws,
\nciting the recent police crackdown against widespread Ecstacy
\nabuse and trafficking, which had been unsuccessful because of
\ninadequate laws.<\/p>\n
\"Some police arrest traders and users of Ecstasy, but other
\ninstitutions will release them just like that,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Increasing the number of policemen or giving stiffer
\npunishment against criminals doesn't solve the problem, because
\ncrime now pays,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Irsan said that increasing the size of the police force would
\nresolve little: \"With the ratio of one policeman to almost 2,000
\npeople in Indonesia, it would be okay if the police were
\nprofessional and had adequate equipment,\" he said. (29)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-academy-berated-over-shortcomings-1447893297",
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