Police Academy berated over shortcomings
Police Academy berated over shortcomings
SURABAYA (JP): A retired police officer has criticized the
Police Academy for failing to produce officers with enough
expertise to cope with complex crimes.
"Garbage in, garbage out," Maj. Gen. Koesparmono Irsan, a
former deputy to the national police chief for operational
affairs, told a seminar on police professionalism on Saturday.
"The amount of garbage in at the Police Academy and training
centers is unbelievable. You can imagine the amount of garbage
out," he said.
Irsan, who is currently rector of a police university in
Jakarta, said he had experienced the problem first-hand. "There
was a student from a school for the intellectually handicapped,
another who didn't know English, and yet another who died during
training because he hadn't passed health tests.
"Those students entered the academy through some powerful
connections," he said.
Irsan questioned the curriculum of the Police Academy.
"There's too little discussion on law, and there is too much on
the history and role of the Armed Forces.
"There's also more than enough discussion on social politics,
despite the fact that knowledge of law is much more necessary for
the work of any policeman," he said.
The seminar, attended by police officers and journalists,
discussed how crime in future would be more organized, and how
there would be more "white collar" crime.
"Police must be more professional and independent," Irsan
said.
Legal expert J.E. Sahetapy seconded most of Irsan's opinions,
but stressed the need for an independent national police force,
free from the Armed Forces. He also said the police needed more
financial support and laws to regulate them.
He said the police should be able to decide independently what
constituted a crime and what did not, without the dictation of
any other power.
Sahetapy said the police force must get more funding to become
cleaner and more professional.
"There's a great amount of unnecessary financing in this
country which could be given to the police," he said, citing the
purchase of secondhand ships and the aircraft industry as
examples of wasted funding.
He said the police should be equipped with appropriate laws,
citing the recent police crackdown against widespread Ecstacy
abuse and trafficking, which had been unsuccessful because of
inadequate laws.
"Some police arrest traders and users of Ecstasy, but other
institutions will release them just like that," he said.
"Increasing the number of policemen or giving stiffer
punishment against criminals doesn't solve the problem, because
crime now pays," he said.
Irsan said that increasing the size of the police force would
resolve little: "With the ratio of one policeman to almost 2,000
people in Indonesia, it would be okay if the police were
professional and had adequate equipment," he said. (29)