Reorganizing the National Police

Reorganizing the National Police

July 1 was a historic day for Indonesia's National Police. President Abdurrahman Wahid made the important announcement that, as of that day, the National Police was no longer under the jurisdiction of the minister of defense, but under that of the president. The chief of police will have a rank equal to that of a Cabinet minister or the attorney general.

This is joyful news not only for the police, but for the community as a whole. For 32 years during the Soeharto regime the police was unable to prove its worth. During all those years, this law-enforcing institution, whose nature should have been civilian, lived in the shadow of the military. Its limited operational budget made it unable to perform properly as a law- enforcing institution, and its public image suffered badly.

We hope that now that it has been placed under the president's jurisdiction, the police will be able to shed this negative image. We also hope it will be able to step up its service to the people in every aspect. The National Police must rid itself of those among its ranks who let themselves be made backers of gambling and prostitution syndicates and of other criminal gangs. It must also be neutral and not take sides in resolving crimes, including white-collar crimes involving people in high places.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta