Maintaining National Police’s Credibility and Accountability
Furthermore, three factors show that this legal event is important and requires serious handling. First, this incident leads us to the essence of internal control and professional development.
Over the last few weeks, the public has been presented with an important legal incident occurring within the National Police (Polri).
The incident in question was the shooting that killed Brig. J, or Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, at an official residence occupied by the head of the National Police’s Professional and Security (Propam) Division. Fundamentally, this incident tested the extent of the police’s commitment to law enforcement, while at the same time testing the credibility, integrity and accountability of the state police institution.
Furthermore, three factors show that this legal event is important and requires serious handling. First, this incident leads us to the essence of internal control and professional development. Internal supervision helps maintain the accountability of the police institution so it is in line with the ethos of public services and democracy.
Professional development, with its core of implementing a professional code of ethics, is a normative as well as ethical need to control the attitude and behavior of police officers.
Meanwhile, professional development is mandated by articles 32 and 34 of Law No. 2/2002 on the National Police. Professional development, with its core of implementing a professional code of ethics, is a normative as well as ethical need to control the attitude and behavior of police officers.
Test for Police
Under Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Nos. 52/2010 and No. 5/2017 on the National Police’s organizational structure and working procedures, two institutions under the National Police chief (Kapolri) are in charge of internal supervision and professional accountability, namely the General Supervision Inspectorate (Itwasum) and Propam.
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Thus, if we look closely, Itwasum and Propam are two supervisory institutions that function as guardians of institutional accountability and the values and morals of police officers as reflected in Tri Brata, Catur Prasetya, the National Police’s oath of honor and its code of ethics.
In another sense, the two institutions have been at the heart of the investigation into the shooting incident so it is conducted transparently and accountable to the law and police ethics.
Moreover, a suspect of the shooting has been named and the National Police Special Inspectorate (Itsus) team conducted an ethical investigation was on 25 members of the National Police, who allegedly obstructed the investigation (Kompas, "Reveal Perpetrators Apart from Eliezer", 8/8/2022), as well as former Propam head Insp. Gen. Ferdy Sambo over alleged violations of the code of ethics in relation to handling the scene of the shooting and allegedly obstructing the investigation (Kompas, "Ferdy Held at Brimob Headquarters", 7/8/2022).
Second, the shooting incident also tested the leadership vision of National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, which he had proposed during his fit and proper test at House of Representatives Commission III in 2021. Conceptually, Listyo’s “Presisi” vision aims to optimize predictive policing models, accountability and transparency in a fair way.
Through the recent legal event, especially in relation to the allegations of obstructing the investigation and violating the police’s code of ethics, this vision was tested both conceptually and concretely, aimed directly at the police transformation road map.
Second is the transformation of services related to public communication. In the context of revealing the truth of the shooting incident, public communication is essential, especially with the growing information distortion.
In the conceptual sense, the test aims at the consistency of the three transformational concepts promoted in the Presisi vision. First is operational transformation that touches on law enforcement as based on a sense of public justice. Second is the transformation of services related to public communication. In the context of revealing the truth of the shooting incident, public communication is essential, especially with the growing information distortion.
Third is the transformation of supervision, which is closely related to the police leadership’s internal supervision over every activity and function.
On the other hand, the concrete test is aimed at the National Police chief’s commitment to and consistency in solving cases. The first test is stated in the Kompas editorial titled “Hoping for Transparency in the Case of Brig. J” (5/8/2022). The editorial underscores public pressure and the instruction from President Joko Widodo to the National Police chief to solve the case in line with the standards science-based investigation in a transparent manner. This is a direct test of the National Police chief’s commitment.
The second test relates to the performance and work ethic of the special team (timsus) formed by the National Police chief. The special team also involves external elements, such as the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the National Police Commission (Kompolnas). Furthermore, from the leadership side, the team is led by the National Police General Supervision (Irwasum) inspector general, Comr. Gen. Agung Budi Maryoto, and National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Gatot Eddy Pramono, who is in charge of the investigation.
Lastly, the legal case has attracted the President's attention. This is inseparable from the constitutional law adopted by the Republic of Indonesia. First, the President is the head of government, as mandated by Article 4 of the 1945 Constitution. Second, articles 2 and 8 of the National Police Law stipulates that the police are part of government. Because it is part of government, the National Police fall directly under the President, and the National Police chief is directly responsible to the President.
Since the National Police are part of the executive branch and fall directly under the President, the instructions he delivered on several occasions – on 12 July 2022, 13 July 2022, 21 July 2022, and then finally on 9 Aug. 2022 – contain the key message for the police institution and the public to immediately solve the case of the death of Brig. J.
The instructions include that first, the incident must undergo the appropriate legal procedures. Second, the President is pushing to solve the case in a transparent and accountable manner. Finally, the President has taken the firm stance that it must be solved transparently.
Accountability and transparency
From these three factors, the basic assumption is that commitment and consistency are needed to promote public ethics. In this case, the principles of accountability and transparency are at the core of public ethics, as these principles are rational and fundamental to the legal process of the shooting incident.
In practice, the law enforcement process was overshadowed by psycho-hierarchical and psychopolitical conditions in the beginning (Kompas, "Police: Eliezer's Actions Are Not Self-Defense", 4/8/2022), as well as obstruction of justice. This refers to acting against the law, using intimidation or intentional violence in any way to hinder, distort, or hinder the administration of the rule of law and justice (Black's Law Dictionary, 2019).
Therefore, the principles of accountability and transparency must be the cardinal principles for both the National Police’s special team and the special inspectorate (Irsus) in the legal process that has already begun. In Public Ethics (2011), Haryatmoko underlines the three essential aspects of accountability. First, accountability is closely related to transparency. In this case, there is demand for a government institution to be held accountable for what it does.
Barigadir J murder case involving Inspector General Ferdy Sambo and his wife.
Furthermore, accountability presupposes that all actions of the state apparatus also contain a moral aspect apart from following the law, so the public can demand that the state apparatus conform to public ethics. Finally, moral accountability cannot be separated from the legal, political and professional dimensions. Therefore, accountability requires rules, procedures, and standards that meet the public’s expectations. Furthermore, in National Police in the State Architecture (2019), M. Tito Karnavian and Hermawan Sulistyo outline that the Propam focuses on indications of police action or behavior by members of the police force.
According to critics, Propam’s biggest challenges especially in investigating ethics violations in relation to handling the crime scene, are as follows. First is impartiality to increase the level of public trust.
Second is how Propam personnel no longer focus on only the standards and rules of conduct, but are beginning to focus on the analytical side, namely studying the tendencies behind police officers that deviate from procedure, even act against the law. In another sense, the criticism should direct Propam to strengthen the integrity of every police officer within the framework of police transformation, based on scientific and research developments.
Appreciation should be given to the National Police chief, who boldly formed a special team and a general supervision inspectorate to reduce obstacles to the legal process and making the process legally accountable. It also shows that transformative leadership exists and functions in crisis situations.
On the other hand, public support in the forms of both input and criticism also needs to be conveyed, because it is an effort to maintain the credibility and accountability of the police. In addition, both public input and criticism reflect the legal maxim fiat justitia ruat caelum, let justice be enforced even if the sky is falling, which can be further interpreted as the strong belief that justice must be upheld, regardless of the consequences.
D Nicky Fahrizal
D. Nicky Fahrizal,Researcher at the Politics and Social Change Department, CSIS Jakarta
(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo)
