Police said to be facing moral and emotional crises

SEMARANG (JP): Indonesian police are facing moral and emotional intelligence crises, a former police chief said yesterday.

Gen. (ret.) Kunarto said during a seminar on the police force that the problems constitute major stumbling blocks for the police to having good, responsible police officers.

To illustrate his point, Kunarto said there were very religious police officers who could become greedy when money was involved. They were capable of anything, including torture, blackmail or even killing people, he said.

"Their conscience and emotional intelligence freeze, forgetting their oath of office," he said in the seminar entitled Police Responsibilities at Diponegoro University.

Kunarto emphasized the need to tidy up the force's morals, beginning with senior officers. "Senior officers are the prime movers of the organization. Therefore, they should serve as role models."

He said that it is essential for law enforcers to be empathetic in conducting their duties. Otherwise, they would be violating human rights too often, as people charge.

"Rampant protests are poignant indicators that people are demanding more respect for their rights," Kunarto said. He added that other law enforcers, such as prosecutors and judges, also need to pay more attention to the issue.

Muladi, a professor of law at the university and a member of the National Commission of Human Rights, added that Indonesia needs to be vigilant against booming transnational crimes.

"Even though Indonesia has not yet been imbued with this type of crime, it does not mean that we would be left untouched in the future," Muladi said.

According to Muladi, research has linked terrorism with organized crime, such arms and drug trafficking, money laundering and abduction.

The crimes can endanger national security, stability and economic development, he added.

Muladi added that special attention needs to be given in particular to the emerging phenomenon of money laundering, a crime which involves economic and political aspects.

Muladi referred to developments in the fields of transportation, communication and computers as supportive to the rapid growth of transnational crimes.

To fight transnational crimes, Muladi suggested identification of various problems and the dangers associated with them.

Indonesia should ratify international agreements on crime investigation, allegations and prosecution, Muladi was quoted by Antara as saying. (har/14)