Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – National Police chief Gen. Sutarman has withdrawn his support for the establishment of a special antigraft squad – a proposal that was suggested by lawmakers during his confirmation hearing for his current position.
"We don't need to set up [a special antigraft unit]. What we need to do now is improve the ability of existing units," Sutarman said on Tuesday in South Jakarta. Sutarman was referring to the corruption investigation divisions within the National Police and regional police forces.
"We should strengthen the professionalism of the detectives and support them with better technology and increased funding for investigations," he continued. The proposal for a special antigraft unit was first mentioned during the confirmation hearing early in October.
Some members of the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal affairs said a special unit was urgently needed to step up the police's fight against corruption. At the time, Sutarman – then National Police criminal investigations chief – said he fully supported the idea.
Several politicians and antigraft campaigners had speculated as to the motive behind the special unit's establishment, and how it would improve the police's performance.
Some argued that the unit was aimed at weakening the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). In 2012, Sutarman openly opposed the KPK investigation into Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo on graft allegations for his role in the Rp 144 billion (US$12.4 million) worth procurement of driving simulators within the force.
In late October, Sutarman denied such speculation, saying that the special unit, if formed, would work hand-in-hand with the KPK.
National Police corruption investigation chief Brig. Gen. Idham Aziz said the police would recruit more investigators, enabling them to handle a greater number of corruption cases.
"We have 103 investigators at National Police headquarters and 500 investigators stationed at regional police precincts. The National Police chief said we would be getting new investigators in 2014," he said.
To boost the investigators' performance, Idham said he would reward high-performance investigators with scholarships and promotions.
The police are entitled to spend up to Rp 208 million to investigate one corruption case, seven times higher than last year's allocation of Rp 30 million per case.
Last year, the National Police completed charge files on 657 corruption cases, exceeding their target of 604 cases. The cases amounted to a total of Rp 1.57 trillion in state losses, of which Rp 261 billion has been restored. This year, the National Police aim to investigate 916 corruption cases.
Members of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) have criticized the police for handling only minor corruption cases, unlike the KPK, which has uncovered a slew of major corruption cases implicating senior government officials.