Sutiyoso wants city police under his power

Sutiyoso wants city police under his power

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso suggested on Tuesday that the
city police be placed under the supervision of the city
administration to improve the coordination among city officials
in maintaining security in the capital.

Sutiyoso said the law on regional autonomy stipulated that
security affairs were the responsibility of the respective
governors.

"We have problems with the implementation of the law on
regional autonomy because we are responsible for security, but we
do not have the tools.

"That is why we need the city police to be included in our
structure," he said.

"It would be suitable if the governor had the authority to
supervise the city police," he added.

Sutiyoso's proposal received strong support from Golkar Party.

Chairman of Golkar's Jakarta chapter Tadjus Sobirin said it
was important to have one line of command for security affairs in
the capital.

"The National Police is under the President's supervision, so
it would be fair to have the city police under the governor's
supervision.

"Such a structure would improve the security coordination
between the governor and the city police," Tadjus said in a media
conference on Tuesday.

He said the city needed a better integrated security system to
handle security following a series of bomb blasts and bomb
threats in the capital.

He also asked the public to increase awareness in their
neighborhoods.

The national police has become an independent force since its
separation from the Indonesian Military in July.

With the decree of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR),
issued on Aug. 18, 2000, the National Police is under the direct
supervision of the president.

The police maintain that limited funds and personnel are the
main reasons for their minimal support for the city
administration. There are around 190,000 police officers in the
country, around 25,000 personnel for 8.3 million of people in
Jakarta.

In the 2000 state budget, the National Police has been
allocated Rp 3.6 trillion to cover expenses.

Sutiyoso said the city administration had the ability to
finance police operational expenses and that it would solve the
police's financial and personnel problems.

"If the city police are put under the city administration, we
can provide funding for them as we will include their expenses in
our city budget," Sutiyoso said.

"The city administration would have the authority to decide on
the types of police operations and when police assistance is
needed.

"Meanwhile, the strategy and management of each police
operation will be in their own hands," he added.

Sutiyoso said further that all governors in the country had
been making the same proposal, but the central government had yet
to reply to the requests.

"We have officially requested for a new provincial police
structure through the association of provincial administration,
which is led by West Java Governor R. Nuriana, but there has been
no reply," he said. (dja)