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View all search resultsDoubts cast on police’s own reform team
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A woman confronts riot police during clashes on Aug. 28, at a protest outside the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
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police reform team established by the National Police chief and made up entirely of active officers has come under scrutiny, with activists questioning its independence and warning it could lead to overlap with a similar commission President Prabowo Subianto is forming.
Public pressure for sweeping police reform has been mounting for years, fueled by persistent brutality, a culture of impunity and apparent political interference in the force. Calls for police reform grew louder in the wake of last month’s widespread protests following the Aug. 28 death of an online motorcycle transportation (ojol) driver, who was fatally run over by a police armored vehicle securing a protest.
In the wake of the demonstrations, police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo formed on Sept. 17 the internal team to spearhead the reform, appointing 52 active flag and middle officers as its members, including Police Education and Training Institute (Lemdiklat) head Comr. Gen. Chryshnanda Dwilaksana as the team's chair.
The move came even though the President had already agreed to a proposal from the Gerakan Nurani Bangsa (National Conscience Movement), a group of prominent interfaith and pro-democracy figures, to establish an independent commission tasked with reforming the police.
Maidina Rahmawati of activist group the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) doubted that the police’s reform team would yield any meaningful outcomes since its composition consists solely of active officers.
“If the police chief is truly committed to reform, it is concerning that the team consists solely of internal members, who have a tendency to use their authority to cover for one another,” she said Tuesday. “We also question why he felt the need to form his own team when the President, who he answers to, is also setting up a similar body.”
Read also: Prabowo to issue decree for police reform soon
