Human rights high in police reform agenda
Adianto P. Simamora, THE JAKARTA POST, BOGOR | Mon, 04/26/2010 12:11 PM |
Recent police officers training with participants from eastern Indonesia included enacting scenarios that illustrated common issues within the police force. One scenario featured a low-ranking police officer who wanted his son to become a policeman.
To secure the future of his son, he gave Rp 50 million (US$5,500) in bribes to a police officer at the human resources department to ensure his son passed the recruitment examination. His son entered the force.
Training instructor Adj. Sr. Comr. Kuswendi later asked the participants to analyze what violation of human rights were made during the recruitment process in the enactment. The participants were also required to provide solutions to eradicate bribery. Participants agreed that receiving bribes and abusing power were violations against human rights as it robbed the rights of other people.
They proposed total improvement on the internal and external supervision the police institution, transparency improvement, imposing the reward and punishment system and renumeration as ways to solve the problem.
"The involvement of the public is also crucial to oversee the recruitment process in the police," the training heard.
The three-week training in Bogor was organized jointly by the National Police and the United Nations' International Organization on Migration (IOM). Eighty-seven police officers from eastern Indonesia joined the training.
The participants were required to share their knowledge on human rights and community policing issues in their respective areas.
"The teaching methods used in the workshops was an effective way to learn more about human rights issues. It allows participants to identify violations on human rights," Adj. Comr Andika told The Jakarta Post.
During the training, the participants also analyzed cases such as the riots in Makassar between university students and the police, to sharpen their analytical thinking. They also learned how to become effective communicators in encouraging the public to get involved in community policing to minimize and prevent crimes. The National Police said the training was part of the ongoing reform of the corps. The reform plan included upholding human rights and involving the public to avert crimes and mitigate conflicts.
National Police chief regulation forms the strategy to implement community policing in police duties. The 2009 regulation stipulates the principle and standard of the implementation of human rights in police duties.
Instructor Kuswendi said that human rights would not hamper police from performing their role professionally.
"Human rights are important and necessary to maintain," he said. He, however, admitted that many police officers in the past were afraid that the human rights issue would limit their ability to handle crime cases. "But, with intensive training, more police have realized the value of respecting human rights," he said
