Waiting for the Moves of the National Police Chief

KOMPAS/NORBERTUS ARYA DWIANGGA MARTIAR

TThe screenshot of National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo giving a press statement at the DPR RI Complex, Wednesday (8/6/2022). The National Police Chief explained the polemic related to AKBP Raden Brotoseno, a former convict in a corruption case who is still active as a member of the National Police.

After hearing public criticism, National Police Chief Gen. (Pol.) Listyo Sigit Prabowo has said he will review the ethics trial decision in the Adj. Sr. Comr. R Brotoseno case.

The statement of the National Police Chief is a relief and should be appreciated. The public has indeed questioned the rationale behind the reactivation of Brotoseno, who was convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to five years in prison in 2017, as a member of the National Police. A court found that Brotoseno had accepted bribes in the handling of a fictitious rice field case in Ketapang, West Kalimantan. Brotoseno accepted the verdict.

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After serving three years of detention, in the Ethics Commission trial, Brotoseno was not dismissed as a member of the National Police. The sanction was in the form of demotion. The reasons were that Brotoseno was considered “outstanding” and the Supreme Court's cassation decision, which freed lawyer Harris Arthur Haedar, who was suspected of bribing Brotoseno. The chairman of the cassation panel, Suhadi, gave a dissenting opinion on Harris' release.

Brotoseno can fight for justice by submitting a petition for judicial review and placing the cassation decision in the Harris case as new evidence.

Regardless of the differences in the decisions of Harris and Brotoseno, the decision against Brotoseno has permanent legal force. The sentence was being carried out. So it is be ethically problematic when a convict in a corruption case is reactivated as a member of the police force. The ethics trial verdict, which not was handed down in the era of National Police Chief Listyo Sigit, is problematic. Brotoseno can fight for justice by submitting a petition for judicial review and placing the cassation decision in the Harris case as new evidence.

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

Adj. Sr. Comr. R. Brotoseno in a trial at the Corruption Court, Jakarta, Thursday (18/5/2017).

We appreciate the steps taken by the National Police chief to review the ethics trial's decision against Brotoseno. The review must be carried out by revising a National Police regulation that provides room for a review of the decision of the ethics commission trial. We encourage the review to be carried out quickly so that it does not continue to be a burden for the police, whose level of public trust is still considered good. Do not let this case be a factor that brings down the level of public trust in law enforcement institutions.

We appreciate the attitude of the National Police chief in listening to public criticism amid the arrogance of the elites and institutions that often ignore public will. In several cases, not only has public criticism been ignored, even suggestions from state institutions, such as the Constitutional Court, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Indonesian Ombudsman, have also been ignored. It seems there is an arrogance of power there.

Corruption is an extraordinary crime. It is very unreasonable if corruption convicts are kept in law enforcement institutions. The credibility of the institutions will continue to decline if their leaders or members are plagued by various allegations of ethical violations, but they are left unchecked, even seem to be protected.

The steps taken by the National Police chief to review the ethics trial's decision should be appreciated. The institution needs to take quick steps before a wave of public distrust occurs. The task of the police as a law enforcement institution should not be burdened by members who have major legal problems themselves.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)