Observer: Modern oversight to curb Polri authority abuse

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Police observer Poengky Indarti stated that the Indonesian National Police (Polri) needs to implement modern oversight to curb the potential for authority abuse by its members in the field. “Modern oversight using CCTV, video cameras, recorders, and body cameras is very important to suppress the possibility of authority abuse, such as excessive violence, transactional practices, corruption, and so on,” said Poengky when contacted in Jakarta on Tuesday. The former member of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) said that Polri needs to reform itself, particularly by enhancing the professionalism of its personnel in law enforcement, to address the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) report which noted 600 complaints involving the police institution as the accused party during the 2023-2025 period. She suggested that, in addition to modern oversight, other efforts should include speeding up case handling and providing transparent access to information for complainants in criminal cases managed by investigators. Furthermore, she stated that it is also important to improve the professionalism of members in conducting preliminary and formal investigations by carrying out duties guided by human rights principles and standards. “And receiving attached supervision from immediate superiors in a tiered manner, up to internal and external oversight,” she said. If there are members who commit violations, she added, they should be immediately subjected to legal and ethical processes firmly to create a deterrent effect, so that similar cases do not recur. Therefore, she continued, it is important to pursue restorative justice for minor cases to avoid burdening law enforcement. “I agree that in handling agrarian cases, the police need to prioritise a dialogic and humanistic approach,” she explained. According to her, community guidance (Binmas) should be prioritised first over Mobile Brigade (Brimob) if the case escalation is not yet high. The human rights activist assessed that it makes sense for the police to be the most reported apparatus suspected of human rights violations. First, the police are law enforcers who operate closest to the public. Before criminal cases are handed over to the Prosecutor’s Office and Courts, they are first reported to the Police. Second, the nature of law enforcement is inherently repressive. Third, regarding alleged human rights violations, she said, there are various types, including the right to obtain justice and legal certainty. “Well, when cases handled by the Police take a long time for the investigation process, clearly the police are accused of human rights violations because the handled cases are considered to be hanging and violate the right to immediate justice and legal certainty,” she said. In addition, Poengky noted, there are also complaints regarding allegations of excessive violence committed by the police.