How best can police forces be reformed after conflict? This study examines the separation of the Indonesian National Police (INP) from the military (TNI) in Indonesia and efforts by countries including the US, the Netherlands and Japan to contribute to the process. It argues that Indonesia shows how outside intervention can have a positive impact on post-conflict police building. However, due to contextual constraints, it may be more cost effective for outsiders to concentrate on capacity building rather than on education regarding the abuse of power.
The INP became part of Indonesia’s military in 1967 under President Suharto. It was only after the 1998 political revolution and the democratisation of the Indonesian state that the process of separating the INP from the military began. In April 1999, a presidential decree was issued to that effect, and in 2002, the legal basis for the separation was established.
The international community was keen to support the emergence of an Indonesian civil police force observing democratic principles. International willingness to support INP reform gained strength with the Bali bombings of 2002 and the growing threat of terrorism. A number of projects have been adopted by different countries aimed at enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of the police force:
- There are projects for increasing forensic capabilities and anti-terrorism investigation capabilities. They range from teaching individuals to constructing a system that enables INP to use the skills acquired. Understanding how a system or a network functions is much harder to comprehend than what should be done at individual levels.
- Community policing requires a change of mental framework. This is why visits to police organisations in developed countries have more potential than classroom tutoring.
- It is not clear that textbooks and training have led to less abuse of human rights or a better quality of community policing.
Police reform projects can be grouped into those that try to (a) enhance the capabilities of the police and (b) prevent the abuse of power.
- Projects to enhance the capabilities of the police can used to reform any police organisation, even at a very early stage after conflict.
- Projects designed to prevent the abuse of power or influence remain dependent on the history and constitution of each individual country.
- Efforts to limit abuse of state power may be ineffective since officials might be forced to use violence to protect themselves from the violence of opposition forces within the state.
- Reform assistance remains a bilateral exercise, strongly influenced by the individuals involved. Given differences of opinion about priorities, it is unlikely that multilateral assistance would be effective.
- If external governments simply provide assistance through a common fund and entrust implementation to an international organisation, the money is unlikely to be used effectively.
- Teaching and practice sessions devoted to combating corruption may have limited effect. Increasing police pay and raising their standard of living may have greater impact.
