Police need to thaw cold relations with public

Police need to thaw cold relations with public

By Adrianus Meliala

JAKARTA (JP): During the recent graduation ceremonies of
military and police academy cadets, President Abdurrahman Wahid
stressed that all graduates should be more aware of the situation
surrounding the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police
(Polri).

Since both have been constantly condemned for their past
mistakes, followed by demands to eradicate their involvement in
politics and business, it would be wise to remind anybody
enrolling in TNI or Polri at this time to be more careful.

Is it to late to make graduates of the police academy -- young
second lieutenants -- realize the reality, in terms of how
distant the police are from society? It seems so, for by now they
would have been in the military-structured academy for three
years, and would have enjoyed being part of a very powerful
institution. They have already absorbed all the doctrines, values
and procedures -- many of which are no longer valid.

Nevertheless, it would be better late than never. Polri's new
position as a civilian organization outside of TNI promises big
changes. Among the initial and urgent projects prepared by the
police headquarters are revision in its educational system and
methods.

It is believed that the source of the wide gap between the
police and the public it is supposed to protect starts from the
police education of new personnel. The military-like system and
values in police education have been blamed as a source of public
resentment, and must be scrapped in anticipation of the police
standing on its own two feet.

Following the end of its relations with all elements related
to TNI, the public will still have to wait for 10 years or more
to feel the result of the changes being initiated. But there is
no guarantee that what is being done today will have any success.
Indeed, civilianizing the police cannot be undertaken in a
radical manner.

When the National Police joined the armed forces in the mid
1960s, the military structure and administration slowly took over
Polri. Even militaristic values came to be part of the police. As
a newcomer in the armed forces, Polri was clearly weak in
resistance and became the "military in police uniform" rather
than the contrary.

One result of this combination gave birth to the paradox of
what was expected of the police: trigger-happy police officers,
brutality in criminal investigations, widespread corruption and a
dire lack of upholding legal supremacy. Other characteristics of
Polri so far are the strict (but dumb) loyalty to defend a
superior's political interests and the vulnerability to
intervention, mainly by the military and powerful elements in
society.

In short, during the 32 years under Soeharto, Polri was denied
its role as a sensitive police organization, in the sense of
dedication to the public. Instead, the police blinded itself to
public interest, and together with its "old brother", the Army,
the police did what they could to defend Soeharto's regime until
his last days in power.

A clear indication of the relationship between the police and
the public is the arson attacks on about 250 police offices in
the last four years. This is glaring evidence of the inability of
the police to understand what the public actually wants in terms
of handling and resolving cases.

The police force has claimed it is starting to change, and has
asked the public to help in its transitional period of total
severance from the military. The police force formally separated
from the armed forces on April 1, 1999.

The around 350 second lieutenants recently inaugurated by
President Abdurrahman Wahid are the first generation of academy
graduates who accepted part of the new version of police
curriculum, as the new curriculum was only enforced this year.

A few fields in which the old militaristic curriculum was
unsuitable to police work were military training, guerrilla
warfare training and hours of parade exercises.

In a lengthy, focused discussion in mid-1999 with a group of
cadets before they finished courses, this writer saw indications
that, after two years of studying under the old curriculum and
another year studying under the new one, this generation has
developed a specific police occupational-related culture
developed by other graduates.

It is suspected that when this revised curriculum interacts
with existing values, symbols and group commitments, which are
still alive in the police community, this produces a "hidden
curriculum".

"Observing the public as an object of policing" is just one
value of this informal curriculum (Sarwono, Meliala, Parsudi,
1999). Its implementation varies, and is reflected in officers'
arrogant behavior, unfounded charges against civilians and the
use of excessive force. Put simply, these police cadets still
have the potential to be insensitive officers when they resume
service.

The introduction of a probational period is one breakthrough
in the new curriculum. It is hoped that during the probation all
cadets will stop believing they are different from society and
are hence entitled to privileges.

In this program, these young second lieutenants will not be
given positions enabling them to be commanding officers. Instead,
they will have to help other officers, including sergeants on the
job. One high-ranking officer explained, "let them feel how hard
it is to be a rank-and-file officer who experiences sweat, blood
and tears when handling what the public expects from them. It is
hoped this will make them wiser when assigned as commandant."

While efforts are ongoing to sensitize the police in the face
of the aforementioned constraints, hopefully the next generation
of cadets will be trained under the completely revised
curriculum.

Since this initial one-year period is regarded as an
apprenticeship period, there is a possibility of failure among
cadets, with a consequence of demotion. As this new rule
basically extends academic life within the academy to four years,
some will no doubt complain. But for their own sake and that of
the public they will later serve, it is better to postpone their
assignment for a year rather than produce more insensitive
officers.

The writer is a criminologist at the University of Indonesia,
Depok, and coauthor of a number of books on the police.