Police To Maximize Existing Institutions In Fighting Corruption

Jakarta, Nov 12 (Antara) - National Police Chief Gen Sutarman said he preferred to increasing and maximizing existing institutional police potential rather than forming a new institution such as anti-corruption detachment in fighting corruption. "There is no need for us to think of setting up a new institution. We had better increase the capability of the existing institutions," Gen Sutarman said when opening a training for corruption crime investigators here on Tuesday. The National Police already has a directorate for corruption crime affairs under the Police Criminal Investigation Department. The directorate is in charge of fighting corruption crimes. Sutarman said it would be better for the National Police to increase the capability of its corruption crime directorate rather than forming a new institution. "We do not need to set up an anti-corruption detachment. What we need to do soon is to increase the capability of police professionalism, technology, personnel, budget and others," the police chief said. By increasing the capability, according to Sutarman, the National Police is expected to be able to meet the people`s demand for corruption elimination. Sutarman said he was also willing to arouse the spirit of police personnel in fighting corruption beginning from the smallest unit in their environment such their own units. "If, for example, you see a resort police chief committing a corruption case and you have the gut to expose it, we will support you and encourage you. This can give spirit and the gut to all personnel. We should do this so that we can slowly clean corruption crimes from various institutions," the police chief said. He also stressed the need for police to provide clear accountability for their budget spending in the handling of a corruption case. "If a corruption case could be settled with Rp50 million, the remaining of the Rp208 million budget allocated for one case could be used for other cases," he said. In the meantime, Brig. Gen. Idham Aziz, director of the Corruption Crime Affairs of the National Police Headquarters, said the National Police will increase the number of its corruption investigators in response to rising corruption cases. "The number of corruption investigators at the Police Headquarters and Jakarta Regional Police is not enough," he said on Tuesday. He noted that Police Chief Gen Sutarman had reminded police of the need to increase the number of investigators, which might be increased in 2014. Idham said the total number of investigators now is about 1,000 personnel, while the needed additional numbers will be communicated to the police chief. He said his office had handled 24 cases through the end of November 2014. "I have the commitment to finish the handling of 30 cases this year," he added.