Police must pay attention to basic duties: Experts
Police must pay attention to basic duties: Experts
JAKARTA (JP): Observers told the National Police to stay focused on its basic law enforcement duties, rather than dealing with preparatory measures for a total separation from the Indonesian Military (TNI) in January 2001.
Interviewed separately by The Jakarta Post on Thursday and Friday, the observers said the police's failure to enforce the law while abandoning its military-style culture would only weaken the people's trust in the corps, which will celebrate its 54th anniversary on Saturday.
"The police's separation from the TNI is a long-term project. The country's condition will worsen in the near future if the police fail to enforce the law and create order in society.
"There are many cases in which the police have been unable to arrest and prosecute allegedly guilty people," Satjipto Rahardjo, a law professor at the Semarang-based Diponegoro University, said on Friday.
He was referring to rampant incidences of street justice in big cities that the police have remained unable to control and the fact that they have been unable to bring the suspects to court.
Gen. (ret) Banurusman Astrosemitro, former National Police chief, shared Satjipto's opinion, saying that people demanded assurance from the police that guilty parties would receive sentences according to the level of their crimes.
"Successful law enforcement occurs only when the police can assure people that there is a certainty of the law in the country," said Banurusman, who led the police corps from 1993 to 1996.
Banurusman, however, asked people not to merely blame the police for its failure to enforce the laws.
"All parties must continue to help create new laws or improve the existing ones to give the police legal grounds to enforce them," Banurusman said after a gathering between National Police chief Gen. Rusdihardjo and retired police generals and senior officers here on Thursday.
Besides improving law enforcement, the observers also called on the police to accelerate steps to abandon the military-style culture to promote the protection of human rights in the country.
No more violence
The Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) slammed the police for its failure to quit a militaristic approach when performing their duties.
"Eradicating violence should remain the police's priority in creating order and security in the country," Ikravany Hilman, Kontras' deputy coordinator, told a press conference at the committee's secretariat in Central Jakarta on Friday.
A report by Kontras claimed that the police had violated human rights in 149 cases throughout the country from January to June this year, which involved 509 victims. According to Kontras, 112 of these victims are now dead.
Adnan Pandupraja, secretary-general of the Indonesian Police Watch, said the police's militaristic style still occurred during police investigations.
"The police have often forced suspects to confess their suspected wrongdoings," he said.
Similarly, former police chief Gen. (ret) Awaloeddin Djamin said an end to the police's militaristic culture is a must.
"The police must prove themselves capable of using a civilian approach," said Awaloeddin, who led the police corps from 1978 to 1982.
Usman Hamid, a Kontras staff member, said the police must prioritize efforts to eliminate the old culture.
In its preparation for total separation from the TNI, the police have outlined a plan to change its ranking structure, abandoning the militaristic ranking style and adopting an international police ranking system.
As of January 2001, the police corps is slated to be supervised directly by the President.
Satjipto, however, said the police, who have gained authority since April last year, should not be part of the state power apparatus once it is directly supervised by the President.
"The police should be professional, meaning that it must avoid interference from all parties which may only want to pursue their own political interests," he said, while suggesting active participation of nongovernmental organizations may be helpful in controlling police work under the supervision of the President. (asa)