Community police
The police's separation from the Indonesian Military (TNI) began when the People's Consultative Assembly issued Decree No. 7/2000, which came into effect in 2001.
In 2002, Law No. 2/2002 was issued to strengthen the separation. According to articles four and five of the law, the police have a role to play in maintaining security and public order, upholding and enforcing the law, and guarding and protecting the people by respecting human rights.
The decree and the law would seem to be clear enough. However for the police, implementing them has not been so clear cut.
It was obvious that the articles in the law gave the police no other option but to put their best foot forward and reform the institution by giving up their military culture and habits.
And the police have tried to do just that. Among the first things that was done was to change the curricula at police schools and academies. Unfortunately, the militaristic drills and culture that used to dominate police schools continue to have a strong influence on the current crop of officers.
This has impeded the transformation process within the police. The recent assault by the former Bogor Police chief on one of his subordinates can be seen as an example of the militaristic culture that continues to permeate the institution.
But in the spirit of change, it is worth noting that the new curricula, with ample doses of human rights and other sociocultural principles, is being applied at the State Police School for senior commissioned officer in Lido, Sukabumi, West Java, the Institute of Police Officers in Jakarta and the Police Academy in Semarang.
However, these changes must be kept in perspective. One senior police officer once commented that it was unrealistic to expect an ideal police force within the next decade.
The new classes of police cadets, officers and recruits are still being taught and trained by officers who came up through the old, militaristic police force.
As part of efforts to transform themselves into the people's police, the National Police have adopted the new National Strategy on Community Policing, which was officially introduced on Sept. 28 in Jakarta.
The launch of Community Policing follows up a cooperation agreement between the National Police, the International Organization for Migration and the government of the Netherlands.
The main objectives of the strategy are to promote Community Policing and Human Rights as the soul of the police, as well as to promote better relations between the police and the community as equal partners in ensuring security and public order.
It is envisioned that under the strategy the police and the community will work together as partners in identifying, prioritizing and solving various problems, including drug use in the community. This can be achieved through neighborhood watch programs, citizen patrols and other means.
The police's attempt to encourage the public to work with it in providing security and public order can be translated as an appeal to revive the community security system, or siskamling, which used to be common in the country.
There are times when residents resist police efforts to detain a suspect living in the neighborhood, with reports of police stations being attacked by mobs seeking the release of detainees. This is a reflection of people's distrust of the police, which developed over years of police abuses.
Making the top-down National Strategy on Community Policing a success is a major challenge, and it is imperative that the police turn their words into action by becoming a true police force of the people.
Efforts to regain the trust of the people will obviously be futile unless all police officers truly understand the significance of the community in dealing with neighborhood crime. Only in this way can we have a real community police force.