Do police really serve and protect the public

Do police really serve and protect the public

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a scale of one to ten, the public will most likely score
around four to five if they were asked whether or not they think
the police are protecting them.

Taking the semblance of order and security they provide to the
public aside, the police force is in fact an institution which
was once invisible and too minuscule to stand among the three
other forces in the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI).

In its journey to stand up to be a strong and solid force, the
police institution showed through cases that it was too early to
expect them to be a tool to protect and serve the public, within
a country which is still in turmoil to find its way back after
the 1998 political upheaval.

Within this year after police -- being split from the
Indonesian Military (TNI) in 1999 -- could work mainly to secure
and maintain order for the people, the public still feel unsafe
and in some occasions were even hostile with the force.

Besides the growing number of crime rates, the public too
became skeptic with the way the police enforce the law and as an
exchange, the people took the law into their own hands which
result in an increasing number of crooks being mobbed or killed
by the masses.

There were reasons that could put explain these matters. The
police force, one of the country's oldest institution, has not
been really touched by any change. A little significant change
will obviously obstruct the whole institution.

"After 55 years of its existence, the police has to stand on
their own feet some two years ago, but like it or not they are
still under the military shadows. For such a young institution,
even a minor turnabout can result in great consequences," said
Nur Athar Iskandar from the Indonesian Police Watch.

The euphoria ambience -- that it was separated from ABRI --
affects the whole work of the police force, he said, adding that
it was the internal mentality which was a problem for the police.

"They could have pressed the euphoria until all things are
cleared, meaning they have their own law so they will be really
independent and not just a modified version of old military law,"
Athar claimed.

He alleged that so immature was the police force that it could
not stand under the blow of unstable political situation in the
country.

In a bigger picture, under the administration of former
president Abdurrahman Wahid, the police melodrama began, how it
has been torn apart and at the end it showed how unprepared the
force was to be politically exploited by the leaders.

Under his administration, in the middle of prolonged
controversy following the emergence of Bulog (State Logistic
Agency) scandal that allegedly implicating his name, Abdurrahman,
replaced police chief Gen. Rusdihardjo in late 2000 .

In early 2001, Rusdihardjo testified before the members of the
House of Representatives that Abdurrahman was involved in the
scandal.

Later on as tension between Abdurrahman and the House
heightened, Abdurrahman installed Gen. Surojo Bimantoro as police
chief without the usual consultation with the House members.

The controversial Bimantoro, however, was not able to do his
job well because Abdurrahman dragged him further into his
political struggles to maintain his power.

Bimantoro fell out of Abdurrahman's favor as the police chief
was said to "have failed to handle a peaceful protest held by
Nahdlatul Ulama supporters in an East Java's town, Bondowoso and
has defied order to arrest top fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala
Putra, the son of former president Soeharto.

Abdurrahman was a long time head of Nahdlatul Ulama, the
largest Muslim socio-religious organization in the country.

Surprisingly the then president announced Bimantoro's
dismissal in front of a ceremony to mark the police force 55th
anniversary in July.

Commissioner Gen. Chaeruddin Ismail then was appointed as
national police deputy chief -- a post that was earlier dissolved
by Abdurrahman.

At the brink of his downfall, Abddurrahman installed
Chaeruddin as an interim national police chief on July 21. It was
an apparent attempt to turn the force into his personal tool to
maintain power.

Chaeruddin's presence however, worsened the structure of the
police force as officers were split between supporters of the
defiant Bimantoro and Chaeruddin who is his junior. But
Abdurrahman left the office eventually after public support
shifted to his deputy, Megawati Soekarnoputri in a snap
Extraordinary Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

The police was left (by Abdurrahman) to remedy their own
wounds afflicted by the political earthquake. How long would it
be able to heal all the wounds?

Bimantoro then continued his tenure and a day before his
retirement, the country's top fugitive Tommy was arrested on Nov.
28. If Bimantoro expected it to be a farewell gift or a swan song
for his retirement, he was wrong because, on the contrary, the
arrest stirred public skepticism over police works.

His successor Gen. Da'i Bachtiar -- who was appointed
following mounting protests from various societal groups and
House members -- was just a day after Tommy was arrested.

However, like it or not he was the one who held the command
baton now. Officers who were credited for arresting Tommy or
delivering a gift for Bimantoro were replaced, including Jakarta
Police Chief Sofjan Jacoeb and his detective chief Sr. Comr.
Adang Rochjana, just within a month.

Again the public was exposed to the police's internal
conflicts. If the conflicts were about protecting public safety
or making plans for an all out war against criminals, the public
could sigh with relief.

Otherwise, the police would be too busy with themselves,
deciding which top officers they would take sides.