The arrest of three terror suspects came just days ahead of the Indonesian Police's 63rd anniversary, which is celebrated nationwide today. But, despite the movement for the reform of the police department, there is still a general feeling of uneasiness and even terror among Indonesians when police officers are near. This fear remains despite the hard work of the police force to improve their image.
The recent string of arrests seems to be history repeating itself. Just before their 62nd anniversary, Polri arrested nine terror suspects with connections to fugitive Jamaah Islamiyah figures Noordin Moh Top and Mas Slamet Kastari, in Palembang, South Sumatra.
The police also had a victory in the war against drugs last month, with a raid on an ecstasy plant in Taman Sari, West Jakarta. The plant, with a reported multibillion rupiah monthly turnover, is known to be a major supplier for customers in Eastern Indonesia.
These are indeed significant achievements of the police force this year. But what is the overall picture of the force?
Perhaps the 2009 report by Amnesty International can answer the question. The London-based rights group said that it had observed a pattern of police abuse towards certain sectors of the Indonesian population.
"Criminal suspects living in poor and marginalized communities suffer disproportionately from a range of human rights violations including excessive use of force leading in some cases to fatal shootings; torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (and other ill-treatment) during arrest, interrogation and detention; and inadequate access to medical care while in police custody," it said.
Meanwhile, in its 2009 report, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) specifically detailed that security forces, including the police's special Mobile Brigade (Brimob) units, continue to abuse people in Papua's remote highland regions with virtual impunity.
The police booked a net deficiency in enforcing the law this year, as they failed to significantly progress in their investigation into the 2004 murder of rights activist Munir.
Last year, when current Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri was chief of detectives, he had the courage to arrest and name former deputy chief of the State Intelligence Agency, Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Purwopranjono, as a suspect in the case, after nearly four years of investigation including in-court witness testimony from defendants Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, a former Garuda Indonesia pilot, and former Garuda president Indra Setiawan. Muchdi however, walked free in December last year, after judges at the South Jakarta District Court acquitted him from all charges due to a lack of evidence.
Meanwhile, a survey by Transparency International Indonesia (TII) published early this year shows the business community sees the police as the most bribe-riddled institution in the country.
Those are just a few shortcomings of the police force. We should expect a lot more from police than making the occasional high-profile arrest of a terror suspect or leading a drug raid.
Excellence can only be obtained through continuous improvement. The police motto Polisi adalah pengayom masyarakat (The police are the guardian of the people) should be more than just words.
Happy 63rd anniversary, Indonesian Police.