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