Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) has urged the National Police to review their recruitment process following the harrowing revelation that an officer allegedly killed and mutilated his two young children.
IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said on Saturday that the news was proof that the psychological examination of police applicants was inadequate for screening those who were mentally unfit to join the law enforcement agency.
"The mutilation case in West Kalimantan shows that there is a serious problem in the police force relating to the mental health of their personnel. Unfortunately, the leadership of the National Police have not been taking this seriously," he said.
On Friday, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti confirmed that an officer in West Kalimantan, Brig. Petrus Bakus, had killed and mutilated his two children at a police dormitory. Petrus allegedly suffered from a mental illness that would have caused him to appear "possessed" when committing the barbaric act.
Petrus allegedly killed his two children, 4-year-old Fabian and 3-year-old Amora, at midnight as his wife slept. Police handling the case found that the two children had been cut into several pieces. Petrus' wife survived the horror and is now living in a safe house.
Neta said corruption could be the reason mentally unstable candidates get recruited to the force. "Bribery is rampant during the annual recruitment process and this allows candidates to pass the psychological test in spite of mental health problems.
IPW also suggested that new officers should spend at least one year, instead of five months, at the Police Academy before being allowed to join the force, to ensure that every member received proper training.
Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) deputy chairman Susanto also called on the National Police to reevaluate their recruitment system. "Police officers are responsible for protecting the people, not harming them," he said.
The KPAI called on the police to thoroughly investigate the crime. "The KPAI asks that the law enforcement agencies quickly and accurately investigate the case to provide legal certainty and a guarantee of future child protection," he said.
Since the murder, photos of the dismembered bodies of Petrus' two children have been circulating on social media. The commission called for social media users to stop circulating the photos. "We ask that people and the media not spread the photos of the victims, including on social media. It is against the law," he said.
West Kalimantan deputy governor Christiandy Sanjaya also asked people to stop sharing the photos to be more sensitive to the feelings of the children's relatives, including their mother.
Meanwhile, West Kalimantan Police chief Brig. Gen. Arief Sulistyanto said that investigators would conduct a psychological examination on Petrus only when the officer's condition was stable. "We will wait for a week for him to be mentally stable," he said, adding that Petrus had never been reported for any problems in the past.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/29/police-must-review-recruitment-process-watchdog.html