Police said to be facing moral and emotional crises
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)