'Police should purge their ranks to fight drugs'

'Police should purge their ranks to fight drugs'

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta police, whose commitment to fighting drugs has been
repeatedly emphasized, have ended up with egg on their faces
following the recent death of a police officer from a drug
overdose.

"Ironically, while the police reiterate their commitment to
waging war on drugs, its officers have been found to be involved
in drugs," Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
Association (PBHI) told The Jakarta Post last weekend.

Hendardi said that the police force needed to clean its ranks
from any involvement in drug-related offenses before launching a
war on drug-trafficking.

An officer from Jakarta Police Headquarters was rushed to the
Husada Hospital in West Jakarta before dying of an overdose after
consuming drugs at the Athena discotheque on Jl. Kali Besar,
Tambora, West Jakarta, during the New Year's Eve celebrations.

Four other police officers are now being interrogated by the
Military Police in connection with the incident.

The death took place only hours after Jakarta Police chief
Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara briefed reporters on the police's
year-end report, reiterating the force's commitment to improving
the professionalism of its officers by applying a "carrot and
stick" approach.

He revealed that the police had dismissed 67 officers and
suspended 40 others last year, with only four of these officers
being implicated in drug cases. Most of the dismissed officers,
44 in total, were punished for desertion. But Makbul did not say
if any of them had been brought before the courts.

Hendardi doubted that the number of police officers involved
in drug-related crimes was so small, saying that many police
officers provided protection for nightspots where illegal drugs
were traded.

He accused the police of covering up for those of their
colleagues involved in drug-related crimes so as to avoid further
damage to the public's already poor perception of the force.

In its year-end report, the police force revealed that the
number of drug cases had jumped significantly, up 44 percent to
2,642 cases last year from 1,831 cases in 2001.

Last year, the police succeeded to solving 2,571 cases
implicating 2,703 suspects comprising 2,662 Indonesians and 41
foreigners. The police also seized 263 kilograms of marijuana,
143 kilograms of heroin, 55 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine
(shabu-shabu), 8.5 kilograms of cocaine, 4,985 ecstasy pills, and
5,321 other samples of additive substances.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo attributed
the significant 44 percent increase to serious police attempts to
detect and crack down on drug-trafficking.

"We are arresting not just the drug pushers, but also the
large producers, like we did on New Year's Eve," said Prasetyo
referring to a raid on a two-story shop-house belonging to one
Aseng on Jl. Jembatan Tiga, Penjaringan, North Jakarta.

In the raid, the police seized 1,783 ecstasy pills and many
kilograms of unprocessed substances.

But Hendardi had other ideas about the increase in the number
of drug cases. He urged police to check whether the surge
reflected a rising trend in drug crimes or demonstrated a
weakening of the police's commitment to upholding the law.

"The police's launching of drug raids by inviting the press to
cover them live won't help improve their already-tarnished
image," Hendardi said, noting that such a practice could also
nurture leaks from errant police officers to drug traffickers
about planned raids.