OCT 2 — At long last, the Indonesian authorities are making a determined attempt to improve the professionalism of the country's police force. And their efforts appear to be paying off.
Such an assertion may seem surprising. After all, Transparency International last year ranked Indonesia's police force as the country's most corrupt institution — for the third year running. The survey, which polled more than 3,800 businessmen, found that bribes were paid in 48 per cent of all interactions with police. Other institutions widely regarded as corrupt included the Customs office (to which 41 per cent of respondents admitted paying bribes) and the courts (30 per cent).
Yet the results of other — less widely publicised — surveys paint a different picture. For example, one poll last year by AC Nielsen and the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed 36 per cent of respondents in several major Indonesian cities felt the police had changed for the better. And a survey in Surabaya by the Asia Foundation, a US-based international development group, found many residents actually saw the police as kind and respectful.
What is going on? One explanation is that poll respondents were just reacting to the fact that recent bureaucratic reforms have made acquiring driver's licences and processing vehicle tax payments easier. This January saw the start of a scheme called “Quick Wins” seeking to improve administration by requiring police to make application procedures for several documents, including driver's licences and vehicle ownership papers, more transparent.
But the effort to improve the police force goes further and wider.
The police are also getting more equipment. For example, National Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri said in January that the Jakarta, Banten and West Java police offices would soon receive 800 minivan mobile service units to increase patrols in areas with a high incidence of crime.
The extent of official determination can be seen in the budget allocation for the national police, which has risen from 3.5 trillion rupiah (RM1,176 million) 10 years ago to 30 trillion rupiah today.
The issue of corruption is also being addressed. In January, after less than a month in the post, Jakarta Police Chief Inspector General Wahyono replaced his top six officers. He denied that misconduct was behind the reshuffle. But the move followed a general image-building campaign in October last year in which 160 Jakarta police officers were fired and 230 punished for various violations.
Public complaints about police extortion have continued, of course. But such activities have also been getting more publicity as victims speak out. In March, dozens of pharmacy owners in North and Central Jakarta went public about a police gang that had been blackmailing them. And public complaints in May led to the arrest of police officers accused of extorting money from nightclub owners, exporters and other small businesses in the capital and surrounding areas.
Critics would argue that other longstanding abuses continue. But it takes time to reform an organisation that for decades has been associated with corruption and extortion. Meanwhile, the police deserve credit for a national crackdown on street hoodlums this year that has done much to keep in check the surge in violent crime during the current economic downturn.
Even so, much remains to be done. Since January, North, South, West and East Jakarta have been declared “red” zones, meaning that monthly statistics show they have a high number of street crimes, brawls and drug dealers. “Yellow”, or medium-level crime areas, include Central Jakarta and the satellite regencies of Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.
Unfortunately, yellow zones include some places classified as high crime areas. In Central Jakarta, for example, they include Tanah Abang and Senen.
Although the police have added 100,000 new officers over the past four years, Indonesia is still well short of the United Nations recommended ratio of one police officer to every 300 people.
The importance of additional manpower is illustrated by the experience of Medan. Following a peace agreement with the separatist Free Aceh Movement in August 2005, the National Police withdrew its paramilitary Mobile Brigade units from Aceh. Some officers were then reassigned to the city, where they were recruited into a newly formed Hoodlum Eradication Team. The statistics speak for themselves. With a population of just over two million, Medan recorded 10,208 crimes in 2007, but only 2,346 last year.
According to a National Police estimate, repeating that success in Jakarta, a city of 12 million people, would require a Hoodlum Eradication Team of 6,000. But the authorities are not yet willing to commit the sort of financial resources that would make the formation of such a squad practicable. The campaign against police corruption also needs to be extended.
Current efforts to develop a more professional force are laudable, but they do not go far enough. — The Straits Times
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