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fter being found guilty of involvement in corruption and money laundering, in the Rp 200 billion (US$18 million) driving simulator procurement scandal for the National Police Traffic Corps in 2010, the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced former national traffic police commander Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo to 10 years'€™ imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of Rp 500 million.

The sentence is lower than the 18-year imprisonment and Rp 1 billion fine sought by prosecutors. Had the judges sought the maximum sentence, Djoko could have been locked up for up to 20 years under Law No. 20/2001 on corruption and Law No. 8/2010 on money laundering.

The judges ruled that Djoko was guilty of receiving Rp 32 billion in kickbacks for granting contracts for the procurement of driving simulators to a private company, a violation that caused Rp 121.8 billion in state losses. To the surprise of the general public, the judges also revealed in the verdict that Rp 2.5 billion had lined the pockets of the former National Police inspector general, the recently retired Comr. Gen. Nanan Sukarna.

The verdict is the first of its kind ever imposed on a high-ranking police officer implicated in corruption. But it serves as a reminder that there are a number, if not countless, police officers implicated in corruption cases that have been prosecuted and brought to justice.

In 2011, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), unveiled 17 suspicious bank accounts allegedly held by high-ranking police officers. However, an internal investigation by the National Police headquarters later on dismissed all allegations against its officers.

The latest case in point '€” a high-profile and controversial one at that '€” is the corruption allegations levied against Adj. First Insp. Labora Sitorus, a Sorong Police officer in West Papua province. The officer, based on reports from the PPATK, had questionable bank transactions totalling Rp 1 trillion between 2007 and 2012.

A preliminary investigation by the National Police unearthed Labora'€™s involvement in illegal logging and fuel smuggling in the province. However, there has been no apparent follow-up to the investigation. Perhaps the probe has been quietly halted.

Djoko'€™s case, therefore, should create an entry point for the National Police to clean up its image. It could commence by providing law enforcement agencies, in this case the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), with better access to enable them to follow up on allegations against others implicated in the case. This would mean that when other individuals '€” such as Nanan '€” are implicated in the same case they can be investigated thoroughly. The National Police also needs to be more transparent about the case against Labora and disclose who is involved, after all common sense warns us that it impossible for a non-commissioned officer like Labora to have such a fat bank account.

The Police must capitalize on this momentum and use it as the catalyst to repair its sullied image.