Police should separate from ABRI: Wik

JAKARTA (JP): The National Police could discharge its law enforcement duties more effectively if it became an independent entity separate from the Armed Forces (ABRI), the chairman of the Association of Police Science said yesterday.

Maj. Gen. (ret) Wik Djatmika told Antara that as an element of ABRI, the National Police currently had to abide by the military's single chain of command, and this often was an obstacle to their chief task of enforcing the law.

The National Police force is currently part of ABRI, along with the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Under this structure, the National Police chief reports to the ABRI commander.

Wik said some of the commands issued by ABRI had often clashed with law enforcement matters. When this happens, law enforcement interests are sacrificed, he said.

He did not cite any examples.

He said many retired senior police officers felt that the police could carry out their duties better if they were not part of ABRI's chain of command.

Wik said the status of the National Police was currently defined by the 1982 Law on National Defense and Security, the 1982 Law on Soldiers and the 1997 Law on Police.

These laws should be reviewed before the National Police can be separated from ABRI, he said.

He said if the laws were not reviewed, the National Police force could be given greater autonomy, such as in carrying out criminal investigations without outside interference. (emb)