Officers learn on the English language beat

JAKARTA (JP): The Police Language School (Sebasa) held an English speech contest here Tuesday in an effort to help officers polish their language skills.

The school's head, Col. Roosiana, said students spoke extemporaneously on several topics, including the "Love Rupiah" movement, the economic crisis, drug abuse and unemployment.

Winners from the 36 contestants were Capt. Firli of East Timor Police Headquarters, First Lt. Rusdi Setiawan of Semarang Police Academy and Second Lt. Arsdo Simatupang of Lampung Police Headquarters.

"English is useful not only for communication, but also for boosting their careers because, by mastering the foreign language, their opportunities to sent anywhere overseas will be wide open," Roosiana said.

The school's objective, she said, was primarily to train qualified English-speaking officers, whose language proficiency would be beneficial for international assignments and in mastering scientific and technological tasks to solve crime cases.

"There are growing numbers of crimes, such as drug abuse cases, involving foreigners as the suspects.

"This situation has forced the police to improve their ability in speaking the language. English is also useful for those who join peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the United Nations."

Sebasa, based in Jakarta, enrolls students from police headquarters in the 27 provinces nationwide. Each province assigns two or three officers every three months.

Established in 1993, Sebasa has traditionally three-month courses in languages including Chinese, French, German and Dutch.

Last year, 400 officers graduated from English classes at the school. An estimated 550 students will join the school this year.

"This year, we will concentrate on English lessons. We will schedule other foreign language courses based on special requests or needs," Roosiana said.

For instance, the school would hold special classes for mastering active German for detectives assigned to study in Germany, and there would be special lessons for detective terminology.

Currently, Sebasa has 23 local teachers and one native speaker instructor.

Three to five top students take the test for UN peacekeeping duties every year.

"One of our graduates, Let. Col. Ito Sumardi, who now heads the Karawang police precinct, was chosen to be the team leader for the peacekeeping team in Bosnia, replacing an officer from the U.S.," said Roosiana, herself a former English instructor at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

She stressed the benefits of holding the contest.

"Here, we're encouraging the students to speak English properly. That is why it is important to hold such a speech contest like the one we have now." (edt)