RI to build stronger police force
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has hinted that the government will continue to strengthen the national police force so that it can fight both conventional and hi-tec crime more efficiently.
In his speech at the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian Police Force yesterday, the President said that the continuation of the police's development will be carried out "in line with the development of a professional, effective, efficient and modern Armed Forces based on the (financial) capability of the state".
Along with the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Police Force in Indonesia is comes under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces, making the national police strongly dependent on the Armed Forces for their resourcing.
Due to its status, the police force has, for many years, had to face the same chronic problems, including a shortage of operational spending and personnel, low salaries and the consequential poor welfare of police families.
Last week National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo said the government had agreed to allow the police, currently with a total strength of around 178,000, to recruit 30,000 cadets for the 1996/97 fiscal year, which is about three times more than in previous years.
The police force will also establish eight new provincial commands this year so that all Indonesia's 27 provinces will have their own commands.
According to Soeharto, the need for the continuation of police development is meant to help the force curb crime.
"Rapid economic growth, the speedy development of science and technology, the changes in the community and the influence of foreign cultures could create criminal acts that we haven't experienced before," said Soeharto.
"Crime is a threat to the people, civilization and human nature. It hampers and damages development. Therefore it should be prevented, warded off and solved."
Soeharto also urged the police to pay greater attention to the growth of organized crime syndicates in the country.
"Organized crime is not only about a large number of groups of criminals and the variety of their activities. They are now also backed up with magnificent planning, control and organization.
"We all realize that developments we have achieved also have negative impacts, which have to be attended to, particularly by the police," he said.
The President, therefore, reminded the force to streamline its coordination with other, related, institutions.
"Don't let a settlement of a problem create another problem which is more difficult to solve," Soeharto said.
Several cabinet ministers, high-ranking police and military officers, and representatives of the police forces of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam also attended the ceremony at the Senayan Complex east parking lot in Jakarta. It was livened up with a series of attractions, including a parachuting display from 50 members of the police and Armed Forces.
During the ceremony, President Soeharto also presented awards to two police generals and four other senior officers for their dedication to the force and unblemished record after 24 years service. (bsr)
Plan -- Page 3