Farouk Arnaz & Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – The National Police have unveiled a new bureau within the detectives division to deal with public complaints of unprofessionalism and misconduct by officers.

The establishment of the Supervisory Bureau of Investigation comes amid widespread public criticism of the force's perceived mercenary approach in handling cases and allegations that detectives were fabricating cases in order to meet their quotas.

On Tuesday, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Untung Ketut Yoga said the bureau would be headed by the newly promoted Brig. Gen. Ronnie Sompie.

"His role will be to examine, supervise, monitor and audit every case handled by the National Police's detectives, to see whether their investigations comply with procedures and to address complaints form the public," Untung said.

He added that Ronnie would submit all his findings to chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi. If Ito himself "is found to have acted unprofessionally, Ronnie will report directly to the head of internal affairs," Comr. Gen. Nanan Soekarna, Untung said.

However, Bambang Widodo Umar, a professor of police education at University of Indonesia, said the new bureau would prove ineffective in reforming the police force.

"It won't have any impact," he told the Jakarta Globe. "The main problem within the police is that they don't want to be monitored by other departments, even those run by their own peers."

Bambang said the existing General Oversight Inspectorate and the Bureau of Professionalism and Security Affairs should have been enough to monitor detectives. "But these two departments are relatively weak, as they tend to cover up the real investigations," he said.

The only effective measure, he said, was to establish a civil-society group to watch the police. "The group could consist of legal experts and human rights activists," Bambang said. "And the government should give this body a strong legal foundation."

The police force is widely considered the most corrupt state institution in the country, and critics have accused officers of being largely resistant to reform and continuing to demand bribes for the most basic services.

Public trust in the force reached its nadir this year when Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the controversial former chief of detectives, blew the whistle on institutional corruption involving several high-ranking officers.

Two middle-ranking investigators, Comr. Arafat Enanie and Adj. Comr. Sri Sumartini, were later found guilty in connection with the allegations. However, members of the police brass, including Brig. Gen. Edmon Ilyas and Brig. Gen. Raja Erizman, were never charged despite being implicated by Susno.