Police told to change investigation method
Police told to change investigation method
JAKARTA (JP): Observers suggested on Friday the police change
their methodology in order to ensure criminal investigations are
handled in a more trustworthy and competent manner.
Legal expert J.E. Sahetapy said the police force, now under
the direct supervision of the president, must comprise officers
who do not coerce suspects into confessing, but allow them to
prove their innocence.
"An interrogation which is based on the principle of presuming
somebody's innocence is prone to bribery. Police can squeeze a
suspect with their right hand while taking money with their left.
"On the contrary, the presumption of guilt can curb the abuse
of power because the focus of the probe shifts to the suspects,"
Sahetapy, who chairs the National Commission on Law, said during
a discussion on the police's professionalism and performance held
by the School of Police Staff and High-Ranking Administration
Officers (Sespati) here.
Other observers also emphasized the weaknesses of the police
in investigating crimes.
Yasril Ananta Baharuddin, chairman of House of Representatives
Commission I for defense, and foreign and political affairs, said
the police often took "shortcuts" in their investigations due to
a lack of funds and facilities.
Instead of upholding the principle of evidence, police, he
said, tend to focus their interrogations on suspects'
confessions. This practice, he said, allows the police to use
coercion to make suspects "talk".
Yasril said dossiers of suspects' confessions often were
submitted to the courts although these confessions were not
supported by sufficient evidence or testimony from witnesses.
"Suspects can retract their confessions by arguing that they
were tortured during questioning as a strategy to avoid
prosecution.
"If the police already have a 'strong sense', chances are wide
open for them to fabricate confessions, through which coercive
measures intensify into torture and many standard procedures are
deliberately violated," he said, adding that such practices cost
the force its credibility and the faith of the people.
National Police chief Gen. Suroyo Bimantoro admitted the
institution needed more than time to improve its performance. He
said the police had long been contaminated with a militaristic
and authoritarian culture.
"We are now building new values and a new paradigm for a
community policing organization where the society is our partner
in upholding the law and human rights," he said while opening the
discussion. (bby)