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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally broke his silence on the recent string of fatalities from police shootings and called on law enforcement officials not to be quick to use violence to keep crowds under control. 

“Keep bullets hidden and do not use them quickly. This should be understood by the National Police chief to the man at the forefront,” Yudhoyono said at a meeting of National Police leadership. 

He said that in an era of democracy and reform, people were free to air their opinion, including through protests, but he cautioned that protests were often accompanied by disorderly and destructive actions. 

Yudhoyono said that although the police should be able to safeguard the public and prevent unrest and anarchy, such measures should be conducted in a professional manner and by using proper techniques so as not to injure civilians. 

“In maintaining security and public order, one of your duties is to handle acts of violence, and there are still those who are not prepared. Some are not so responsive and some are not professional,” he said. “Because they are unprepared, it is very easy to accuse the police of allowing things to proceed. 

“Sometimes it is not only the police that are accused of that, but also the state.” 

The president’s speech came on the heels of a National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) report released on Monday that gave police the dishonor of being the arm of government most often reported to the commission in 2011. Ifdhal Kasim, the head of the commission, said that complaints about the police totaled 1,262 cases. 

Ifdhal said it was evidence that neither the force’s General Oversight Inspectorate (Irwasum) nor its Bureau of Professionalism and Security Affairs (Propam) managed to prevent officers from abusing their authority. 

Yudhoyono said it was important for the police to keep order and protect the public. 

“Our people should not be worried and afraid that violence, destruction and people taking the law into their own hands can take place anytime,” he said. 

Although he cautioned police against using force, he stressed that action should be taken against rioters and those using violence while warning it should be line with both democratic norms and rules and regulations. 

Yudhoyono demanded the National Police practice self-correction so that procedural mistakes were not repeated. He attributed those mistakes to a lack of preparedness and professionalism by some individuals in the police, though he did not name names. 

The president called on the police to positively respond to public and media criticism and take it as input for improvement. 

“There are mistakes and violations by individuals in the National Police. Why is it that when one police member [makes a mistake] it immediately comes under public scrutiny? Because you are law enforcers,” he told the group. 

Any sanctions against law enforcement members who were found violating the law or the procedures should be transparent to make sure the public was aware of it, the president noted. 

“There are still technical mistakes taking place on the field, and this shows that the professionalism of a number of National Police members is not yet what should be expected. There are unnecessary excesses that go beyond the acceptable norms,” Yudhoyono said. 

He also said police were responsible for capturing violent civilians and allowing the courts of law to prosecute them, not to use “street justice.” 

  
Additional reporting by Farouk Arnaz & Antara