Police face uphill battle to uphold the law enforcement
JAKARTA (JP): The low ratio of police officers to the general population has led made the national police unable to serve the people adequately, says a former national police chief.
General (ret.) Awaloedin Djamin said here yesterday that the situation has been made worse by the fact that Indonesian policemen are poorly equipped.
"With the 1:1,200 ratio between the number of officers and the population and the poor equipment they have one should not expect good service from the police," he said in an interview with Antara in the run-up to National Police Day on July 1.
Awaloedin, who is now rector at the University of Pancasila and lecturer at the Police High Learning Institute (PTIK), said that compared with other Asian countries Indonesia has the lowest police-population ratio.
"There is no Asian country where the ratio between the member of police members and the population is lower than 1:700," he said.
He added that in India the ratio is 1:700, in Pakistan 1:600, and in Singapore Hong Kong and Thailand 1:200.
Awaloedin said that many police precincts and posts in Indonesia report even worse ratios.
"If it is 1:1,500 then that means police officers have to shoulder heavier tasks while their working hours are much longer than in urban centers."
"The low ratio also affects the rate of response of police action to criminal cases," he said.
However, Awaloedin said, despite the discouraging reality the police have tried their best to carry out their duties.
Retirement
According to the general, one of the ways to improve the ratio -- for example one officer for 1,000 people -- is to extend the retirement age for police members.
Awaloedin said that it is sad that now a non-commissioned officer has to retire at the age of 48 while he is still able to render his service to the people based on his experience.
He said the government should also provide officers with a functional allowance as it has given to public prosecutors. According to the general, who is former minister of manpower, an intelligence or traffic police officer really has a special skill worthy of the functional allowance.
Awaloedin said that during the current Long-term Development Plan, which started this year, when crime is believed to be on the rise, the recruitment of new police members and improving their equipment seems to be a must.
The government should reach a 1:1,000 ratio," he said.
In the future, he said, organized crime will increase and international criminal organizations like the Mafia, Triads and the dreaded Yakuza will also expand their operations.
He said the police will have no alternative other than upgrading their professionalism, especially in the forensic field.
"If the police fail to improve their quality and quantity I'm afraid more and more people will be afraid to leave their homes. (tis)