Jakarta – The National Police has dismissed between 300 and 350 officers annually over the past few years due to human rights violations, a senior officer says.

Head of the police's legal division, Insp. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi, told a seminar in Makassar on Monday that police had recorded 5,000 cases of rights violations involving officers, out of which 300 had been sentenced.

He said the National Police chief had issued a regulation earlier this year on human rights guidelines for officers on duty.

"As a state apparatus responsible for the protection of citizens, public services and law enforcement, the police need guidelines to show commitment to the promotion of human rights," Aryanto said as quoted by Antara state news wire.

The police force has a total of 374,526 personnel, 90 percent of whom are petty officers. Aryanto said petty officers were more prone to human rights violations than middle and high-ranking officers.