The newly-formed dual function of the national police<\/p>\n
By Adnan Pandupraja<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Despite the lingering public distaste for the
\nterm \"dual function\" of the military, the concept is still
\nincorporated in the Law on Soldiers of the Indonesian Military
\n(TNI) and there is yet to be any sign that it will be removed
\nfrom the document.<\/p>\n
Somehow, many people fail to associate the concept with the
\npolice force despite the fact that it had once been part of the
\nTNI. This is due to the fact that for three decades, the police
\nwere marginalized as a result of the police institution having
\nbeen systematically subordinated to the military.<\/p>\n
This subordination invites the sympathy of some people,
\nespecially when they compare the police institution with the
\nthree forces in the Indonesian armed forces.<\/p>\n
How is the police force in postseparation period? Obviously,
\nthe decades of subordination has had its injurious consequence;
\nthe police force has become very dependent. The public has become
\nskeptical of the law enforcers' ability do their job well.<\/p>\n
Many cases have showcased the domination of the military over
\nthe police. Would, in the prereform era, the police, for example,
\nhave pursued the drug abuse case involving Agus Isrok, a member
\nof the army special force Kopassus and son of then army chief of
\nstaff General Subagyo?<\/p>\n
The reform and the separation of the police force from the
\nmilitary have brought about some commendable changes, but special
\nattention must be paid to the capability of police in
\nintelligence.<\/p>\n
The recent unrest in Salemba, Central Jakarta, where five
\nmotorized vehicles belonging to the TNI were set on fire, clearly
\nindicated the weakness of police intelligence and vividly
\nillustrated the fruits of a policy of subordinating the police to
\nthe military.<\/p>\n
A simple question that next emerged: How could the police be
\ntaken off-guard about a massive rally being planned? How could
\nthey not be able to prevent mobs from forming?<\/p>\n
Regardless of the likelihood of a political motive behind
\nthese rallies (i.e., an attempt to discredit the government by
\npushing the police to the corner), it is a fact that until then
\nthe police had received intelligence information from the
\nmilitary.<\/p>\n
So, when the police had to be suddenly separated from the rest
\nof the TNI, they seemed to be at a loss over what to do. Hence
\nthe helplessness and loss of self-confidence on the part of the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid is certainly aware of the
\ninability of the police to ensure the public sense of security.
\nYet he continues to display great confidence in the police; for
\ninstance, he has made plans to assign the police to safeguard the
\npresident and other important state officials--a duty until now
\nentrusted to the TNI.<\/p>\n
This may not be the best choice, given the condition of the
\npolice at present but the move could serve to empower the police
\nand so could gain public support.<\/p>\n
It is worth noting that prior to the separation from the TNI,
\nthe police actually had three functions to perform. The first was
\ntheir sociopolitical function, which, unfortunately, has been
\nfrequently abused by certain members of the police and the TNI.<\/p>\n
The second function, which is the essence of the police
\ninstitution, is to maintain security and order. The third
\nfunction has to do with the judicial system--here the police act
\nas investigating agents for criminal acts as regulated in the
\ncriminal procedural code (KUHAP).<\/p>\n
Prompted by the reform movement, then president BJ Habibie
\ninitiated the separation of the police from the Indonesian
\nmilitary through his Presidential Instruction No. 2\/1999.
\nAbdurrahman Wahid formalized the motion through Presidential
\nDecree No 89\/2000. Since then, the police assume only a dual
\nfunction, namely the security and order function, and the
\njudicial function as investigating officers.<\/p>\n
Let us study the two functions of the police.<\/p>\n
Both the rate and quality of crimes have escalated in the past
\nfew months. Thieves have been burned alive, victims of murder
\nhave been mutilated, riots have broken up in many places and
\npeople allegedly practicing witchcraft have been killed, to
\nmention but a few.<\/p>\n
In the first half of the year 2000 alone, there were 42
\nincidents of mobbing to death of alleged perpetrators of thievery
\nin Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi and none of these cases
\nhave been duly processed.<\/p>\n
The police seem to have failed in dealing with seemingly
\nplanned and systematically practiced mob anarchism. Their oft-
\ncited excuse is inadequate human resources.<\/p>\n
The ideal proportion of police officers to the population is
\n1: 200-300, according to international standards. This means that
\none policeman is assigned to monitor only 200 to 300 people, as
\nis done in a number of advanced countries such as England where
\nthe ratio is 1:200.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the prevailing ratio is 1 : 1,400 and observers
\nsay it will take the country 30 years to reach the ideal figure.
\nNaturally, even if some policemen carry firearms, they will
\nprefer to run helter-skelter rather than dying for nothing when
\ndealing with a mob of people much bigger in number.<\/p>\n
Next, it is important to consider the function of the police
\nas investigating officers which they will not be able to carry
\nout properly unless some improvement is achieved.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Police record of criminal acts between January and
\nJune 2000 showed that every month the regional police received an
\naverage of 1,400 criminal case reports from the community. At the
\ndistrict level, police received an average of 50 to 60 reports on
\ncriminal cases filed by the community every month .<\/p>\n
The same report says that each district-level police unit
\nclaimed to have investigated at least 60 percent of the reported
\ncrimes. However, a district-level police unit chief in Jakarta
\nhad honestly acknowledged that actually each district-level
\npolice unit in Jakarta was able to investigate only a maximum of
\n40 percent of the cases reported.<\/p>\n
The higher figure was reported because the district-level
\npolice chiefs did not want to be badly evaluated as it would
\nhamper their promotions.<\/p>\n
As a matter of fact, the actual number of criminal cases is
\nusually higher than what is reported owing to public distrust of
\nthe police and their performance. Police certainly face
\nconstraints that have rendered them unable to increase their
\ninvestigation rate, the two most serious being a severe lack of
\nfunds and poor and limited human resources.<\/p>\n
Addressing the question of human resources shortage, chief of
\nthe Jakarta Police Inspector General Nurfaizi has said that of
\nsome two hundred plainclothed police officers that each district-
\nlevel police unit has, only two to three are law graduates. The
\nrest are of a lower educational level.<\/p>\n
It can be imagined therefore how they can complete their
\ninvestigation into the criminal cases that are reported every
\nday. Worse still, the budget allocated for investigation purposes
\nis very limited, between Rp 40,000 and Rp 50,000 a case.<\/p>\n
Nurfaizi's statement also explains why the police fail to
\nproperly play their judicial role. As they are baffled by
\nlimitations, police earn less respect from the community.<\/p>\n
This crisis of confidence could, in turn, explain why members
\nof the public have increasingly taken the law into their own
\nhands, resulting in the death of dozens of people who might have
\nbeen innocent.<\/p>\n
Aware of this problem, the President, by virtue of his
\nPresidential Decree No. 89\/2000, has instructed the police to
\ncoordinate with the home ministry in maintaining security and
\norder and with the Attorney General's Office when dealing with
\njudicial matters.<\/p>\n
The writer is secretary-general of the Indonesian Police Watch
\n(Polwatch) at the School of Law in the University of Indonesia.<\/p>",
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