Tougher recruitment seen as positive<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Police's decision to tighten their recruitment
\nprocedures following a fatal shooting incident involving two
\nofficers is seen as a positive move to help avoid a similar
\nincident in the future, but some warn that bribery could
\ninterfere with the tougher recruitment standard.<\/p>\n
According to the new plan, recruitment procedures will among
\nothers, consist of a more complicated psychological test for
\ncandidates who wish to join the force and more frequent tests on
\nrecruits and officers.<\/p>\n
Chairman of non-governmental organization Police Watch Rashid
\nLubis told The Jakarta Post over the weekend that a higher
\nstandard of recruitment procedures was necessary to produce
\nbetter quality police officers.<\/p>\n
However, Rashid warned of lingering practice of people bribing
\nrecruitment officers as a short-cut to enter the force, and of
\ncertain high-ranking officers giving recommendations to certain
\ncandidates.<\/p>\n
\"If the candidates do not go through the standard screening
\nprocedures, then we won't be able to find out their real quality
\nincluding their psychological conditions, thus opening the
\npossibility for the recurring of the Jombang incident,\" said
\nRashid, referring to the incident last week where First Insp.
\nSugeng Triyono, an administration staff officer with East Java's
\nJombang Police shot Adj. Comr. Ibrahim Gani, head of the anti-
\nriot unit. Sugeng killed himself after firing two shots.<\/p>\n
The police said the incident occurred because Sugeng was
\ndepressed since working as an administration staff, compared to
\nhis previous post as the chief of the lucrative traffic section.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the shooting incident in Jombang, Rashid said
\nthat the two officers were probably old \"products\" when the
\nrecruitment system was fairly simple and prone to outside
\nintervention.<\/p>\n
\"I think the police are working to improve it. They've been
\nworking together with the psychological department at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia for the tests and we can see the results
\nin the next three or four years,\" Rashid said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, First Adj. Insp. Moro Kuswantoro of Tanah Abang
\nsub-precinct said that he fully supported the National Police's
\ndecision to conduct more frequent psychological tests to assess
\nthe mental health condition of each officer.<\/p>\n
\"It will be good to know whether we're psychologically healthy
\nor not if the tests are conducted more often. We get tested
\nregularly once a year when we extend our gun licenses. If you
\ndon't pass the test then you can't get your gun license,\" Moro
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
However, Moro added that the regular once-a-year test only
\napplies in Jakarta and that he did not know about the conditions
\nin other regions in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Chief Brig. Purnomo said that psychological tests were
\nrequired by either the officers or by the superintendents, but
\npsychological tests alone could not tell the problems that an
\nofficer faced outside his workplace.<\/p>\n
\"An officer is just a human being who can face trouble at home
\nwith his family or his neighborhood and can be depressed with his
\njob as well.<\/p>\n
\"A test is good for monitoring but it can't eliminate or solve
\nthose problems. So we still have to control ourselves so that the
\nJombang incident will never happen again,\" Purnomo said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tougher-recruitment-seen-as-positive-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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