Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Outgoing National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri took the unusual step of apologizing on Monday for any wrongdoings his officers had committed on his watch, including violence, extortion and case-fixing.

Speaking at his last scheduled news conference, Bambang said the public would judge what kind of job he did as the nation's top police officer, but he took responsibility, not very convincingly, for misdeeds within the force, without naming any.

"Let the public decide [if I was a success]," said Bambang, who leaves office on Wednesday. "But I apologize if during my term there were things we did not achieve. I also apologize if any of my officers engineered cases or committed violence and extortion."

With the National Police a habitual target of public anger and accusations of corruption, Bambang appealed for understanding and said he had done his best to steer a consistent course. "Please support the new police chief," he said of his successor, Comr. Gen. Timur Pradopo, who was formally appointed last Friday.

In a reflective mood after two tumultuous years that saw officers under his command accusing one another of fixing cases, accepting bribes and framing suspects, he even thanked NGOs and the media for criticizing his policies. "Once again, I want to convey my apologies if I failed," he said.

He was careful, however, to deny that the high-profile abuse of power case against Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was fabricated – a charge that NGOs, human rights groups and others have made repeatedly. "We did not engineer anything against them," Bambang said.

Bambang said he was prepared to be summoned in a legal proceeding to explain what happened during his term, but said the new chief would handle the case.

A group of nongovernmental organizations recently said there were dozens of documented cases of abuse involving police officers over the past two years, a sign that reforms have yet to yield results within the National Police.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has said that torture and ill-treatment of suspects in police custody is still rampant 12 years after Indonesia ratified the UN Convention Against Torture.

Meanwhile, Indonesia Corruption Watch has said it will report more than a dozen senior police officers with suspicious bank accounts to the KPK.