Beyond the issue of clothes, watches and luxury cars among police officers actually lie acute problems regarding law enforcement institutions, which in fact need a lot of improvement.
By
Bivitri Susanti
·5 minutes read
SALOMO TOBING
Bivitri Susanti
All eyes are now on the Ferdy Sambo case, which is on trial at court. Anger and sadness mix with speculation about the “black book”, gambling and drug networks. The thing we have to worry about is the idea that those problems will “go away” as if they can be solved with a court verdict.
Several days ago, when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo summoned police officers, there was an order for the police not to show off a luxurious lifestyle. However, the point is left untouched: how is this luxurious lifestyle obtained? As a result of the president’s appeal, the car brands parking at police offices have changed; but the question is, will the behavior of the policemen and the way in which the law is enforced change too?
Beyond the issue of clothes, watches and luxury cars among police officers actually lie acute problems regarding law enforcement institutions, which in fact need a lot of improvement.
The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs who is also the Chairman of the National Police Commission, Mahfud MD, has revealed something that the public has been afraid to convey -- that is, when the public reports violations by members of the police. The National Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo has also publicly suggested eliminating the practice of setoran (providing regular money) from subordinates to superiors within the police institution.
There are pieces of the puzzle that have got “official confirmation” as they have been discussed openly by formal political actors. These issues have actually been discussed by the public for a long time, but with extra caution for fear of pressure. Because what is being discussed is an institution that is very strong considering that it holds enormous power in law enforcement. The adage that the law is sharp downward and blunt upward can be said to be reflected in how the law is enforced by its enforcers.
In Georgia, once part of the former Soviet Union, in 2004, as many as 30,000 police officers were fired to initiate police reform. Of course, the Indonesian context is very different from other countries. Such drastic steps may not need to be taken, but there is one important lesson from Georgia that we can take: there needs to be a “zero point” or starting point for police reform.
This reform must be based on facts or real problems that occur within the law enforcement apparatus, not on the police’s image that is depicted through a show of luxury.
Reform measures should be based on real problems, not perceptions. Because if it's based just on perception, the result will only be image, not solving real problems.
It should not be forgotten that not all police problems can be assigned to the institution itself. Quite a number of other institutions enjoy this great power by creating mutually beneficial relationships (symbiotic mutualism) -- from businessmen and investors who want to displace people from their land to politicians who have economic and political interests.
Independent team
Police reform should be carried out by an independent team because the reform of the police is aimed at dismantling the power relations that are still entrenched. This independent team must be separated from the police itself and also from academics as well as activists and politicians who are close to the police. If this “zero point” by establishing an independent team is not realized, surely the solution offered will return to the problems on the surface because the time factor and the number of issues circulating will easily make our memory fade considering many problems that today fill the space.
There have been many proposals for police reform, even since the 1998 reform began. This proposal has not been fully implemented. We have constitutional firmness regarding the separation of the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI), but there has been no change in terms of institutional improvements, especially those related to the evaluation of the authority, supervision system and the identity of the National Police, which tend to remain militaristic in character (Bambang Widodo Umar, 2008).
The constitutional duty of the police is security, but the security that is guarded tends to be the security of the rulers and businessmen, not that of the ordinary people.
However, this constitutional duty also extends to administrative matters, such as the issuance of vehicle registration certificates, which in many other countries are carried out by the government and local administrations. Likewise, the authority in law enforcement that is still detached from the prosecution process, which is carried out by the prosecutor. It needs to be reviewed.
The number of studies that already exist will facilitate the initial analysis of police reform, in terms of academics. But we understand that the problem is not only analysis and policy solutions, but political challenges, because so many are also comfortable with the current situation. For this reason, the president's firmness as head of state as well as head of government is once again needed. This, of course, is not easy to implement in the current political years. However, the idea of a “zero point” for police reform should not fade away from the conversation.
