Low paid police officers face a though challenge
Low paid police officers face a though challenge
By Sylvia Gratia M. Nirang
JAKARTA (JP): The police have long been a target of public
criticism. People frown upon the police when they are too slow in
handling cases, or too harsh in dealing with suspects.
Some have become cynical about the police and consider them
"insignificant in the Armed Forces family". They say the police
do not count compared to the military.
Maj. Gen. Ahwil Lutan, governor of the Police Staff College
(PTIK) acknowledged that the police were more susceptible to
public criticism because their job required them to work within
society.
"The police's job everywhere in the world is not interesting
because most of our job deprives people of their rights, such as
summoning, investigating, arresting and frisking them," he told
The Jakarta Post.
"It is much more difficult than being a soldier, who mostly
deals with weapons only. We have to be more flexible because our
job involves human rights," he added.
Policing society is becoming harder as the job is full of
pitfalls. Police have to enforce the rules, but at the same time
they must handle the public in a flexible manner, Ahwil said.
He said there were four elements that made a good police
officer: motivation, a good education, good training and
financial standing.
"People often forget about an officer's welfare. They only
want the police to meet their expectations. If we want to be
honest, the salary of the lowest-ranked police officer is below
the minimum wage," he said.
"That's why it's not easy. We have to train police officers to
do their best, and even to risk their lives amid the lack of
facilities and very low salaries," he said.
He did not say how much a police officer earns on average, but
current monthly minimum wages in Indonesia are between Rp 109,000
(in Yogyakarta) and Rp 235,000 (in Batam).
Protect
Ahwil said that basically police education differed from that
of the military.
"Military officers are trained to use weapons to kill the
nation's enemies, as many as they can, while we, the police, are
trained to handle people, to protect people," Ahwil said.
According to Ahwil, police education is divided into three
categories: basic police education, advanced education and
scientific and technological education.
Basic police education aims at transferring police skills to a
civilian who wants to become a police officer. It is provided by
the Sekolah Tamtama and Sekolah Bintara (both are schools for
noncommissioned officers), Sekolah Perwira (Officers School) and
the Police Academy (Akpol).
"Our police education is different from other countries.
England for example, has just one entry gate... everyone who
wants to join the police has to start their career as a
patrolman. Here, we offer various ranks depending on educational
background," he said.
Advanced education aims to develop the abilities of a police
officer after several years of being on the force. The education
prepares an officer to become a police leader. This can be
obtained through a cycle of education, training and experiences
with various duties.
Included in this stage are the PTIK, the Police Officers
Advanced School (Selapa), the Indonesian Police Staff and Senior
Officers School (Sespimpol) and the Armed Forces Staff and
Command School (Seskogab ABRI).
Scientific
The third stage, called scientific and technological
education, is provided in schools and courses which focus on
improving police techniques and expertise, such as drug and
narcotics enforcement courses.
They aim to give police officers special police expertise
which supports their careers.
PTIK and Selapa are for senior staff, such as resort
commanders, while Sespimpol and Seskogab are for high-ranking
officers.
Ahwil said PTIK was established in 1946 in Jakarta to improve
the ability of police officers graduating from the Police Academy
so they could get an undergraduate degree.
"We aim to boost human resources in the National Police.
Frankly speaking, only a limited number of police officers with
specific qualifications gain access to the Staff College," Ahwil
said.
The college selects students on the basis of their academic
performance, mental ability and health.
"All of our students have to achieve high scores in these
criteria. There is no place for those who fail to meet the
requirements. We try to be strict, and sorry, no bribes are
allowed," Ahwil said.
He noted that there were three main aspects of the college's
education system which must be improved -- the curriculum, the
learning process and the quality of lecturers.
"The police now have to face all kinds of problems, not just
crime. The political and economic situation interferes with our
job and that is why this college is important to help us to
broaden our perspectives.
"It really helps us to become more professional and modern.
We're the police. We do not only have a military capacity, we
have to protect and serve the people, too. That's our main job."
PTIK students are taught both general subjects and police
skills.
"We began an academic cooperation with University of Indonesia
(UI) in 1986. We follow its standard curriculum and 50 percent of
the lecturers here come from UI. Our tuition fees are also the
same as for UI postgraduate courses."
Ahwil said PTIK would introduce a new postgraduate (S3) course
next year and would welcome civilian applicants.
He said the new course would offer classes in three major
subjects -- police law, police administration and police
technology.
Postgraduate classes will be provided in conjunction with the
magisterial classes (S2) which the school has been running for
three years, he said.
"The new course will be open to members of the public in the
same way as the magisterial course is. If you pass the tests and
meet our standard qualifications then you can enroll at the
college. We currently have some Atmajaya University graduates in
the magisterial course," Ahwil said.
He added that PTIK undergraduate (S1) courses were open only
to graduates of the Police Academy.
Last month, 115 people graduated from PTIK.