Police mull recruiting vocational school graduates<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A high-ranking officer suggested over the weekend that police
\npersonnel be recruited from the so-called D1 program, instead of
\nhigh school graduates, in order to get professionals with
\ncivilian mind-sets and perspective.<\/p>\n
The governor of the Institute of Police Officers (PTIK), Insp.
\nGen. Farouk Muhammad, said his institution had held discussions
\nwith several universities across the country about providing the
\none-year program, known as Diploma 1 or D1, for police studies.<\/p>\n
\"We expect our recruits to be more rational, which is one of
\nthe major requirements for professional officers,\" Farouk told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal, those intending to enter the State Police
\nSchool (SPN) or Female Police School (Sepolwan) will be required
\nfirst to complete D1 program on police studies.<\/p>\n
However, graduates of the police studies diploma program will
\nnot be automatically admitted into the SPN and Sepolwan, as they
\nmust also undergo a series of tests.<\/p>\n
Each year, some 150,000 high school graduates apply for 25,000
\nseats in 25 SPNs and one Sepolwan across the country. The
\nstudents attend the schools for five months, after which they
\nundergo a six-month probation period at district police offices
\nacross the country. Once they pass the probation period, they are
\ninaugurated as low-ranking police personnel, known as bintara.<\/p>\n
\"The only difference between high school graduates who often
\nengage in brawls and SPN graduates is that the latter have been
\nthrough five months of police training .... Five months is too
\nshort for us to shape them,\" Farouk said.<\/p>\n
Farouk regretted that most low-ranking police personnel lacked
\ninitiative and always waited for specific orders before doing
\nanything.<\/p>\n
The public has often complained about police personnel
\nmishandling crowds during rallies, protests or strikes.<\/p>\n
Last month, several low-ranking officers beat several
\nuniversity students who were staging a peaceful demonstration
\noutside the Supreme Court in Jakarta. The case is currently being
\ninvestigated by the Jakarta Police Headquarters.<\/p>\n
\"We have a goal of recruiting a lot of low-ranking police for
\nthe National Police to be able to serve the people. However, this
\ncould cause a decline in the quality of personnel,\" Farouk said.<\/p>\n
The 250,000-strong National Police announced last year that it
\nwould recruit some 25,000 low-ranking officers and 1,000 middle-
\nranking officers (perwira) annually until 2007.<\/p>\n
Previously, the police were only able to recruit some 20,000
\nlow-ranking officers and 500 middle-ranking officers a year.<\/p>\n
By 2007, the police expect to have some 400,000 personnel to
\nserve some 215 million residents, or one policeman for about
\nevery 500 people. The United Nations standard is one policeman
\nfor 350 residents.<\/p>\n
However, the National Police have lowered their standards for
\nthe PTIK, which no longer conducts a series of tests to screen
\nmiddle-ranking officers who have been on the force for at least
\nfive years.<\/p>\n
bisa disikat<\/p>\n
\"We understand that they have undergone a series of tests when
\nthey applied for the Police Academy. So, it is not necessary to
\nscreen them again,\" Farouk said, adding that this would not lower
\nthe standard of PTIK graduates.<\/p>\n
The PTIK now allows provincial police headquarters to select
\nofficers to send to the institute for bachelor degree studies
\n(S1). The Police Academy is a three-year program.<\/p>\n
Observers have said that the PTIK's decision not to screen its
\nstudents is related to the National Police Headquarters' goal of
\nincreasing the number of high-ranking officers.<\/p>\n
Some middle-ranking officers in the past have been known to
\ncomplain about the difficulty of gaining entrance to the PTIK.
\nGraduate of the PTIK are usually promoted to high-ranking
\nofficers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-mull-recruiting-vocational-school-graduates-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}