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Jakarta. Terrorism and legal analysts on Wednesday hailed the National Police’s move to separate the elite counterterrorism squad Densus 88 from the detectives unit, saying it would boost the unit’s effectiveness in fighting extremism.

As part of an internal restructuring process, the National Police on Wednesday officially turned Densus 88 into a dedicated department within the force, directly responsible to the National Police chief.

“This would make counterterrorism effort more effective,” terrorism expert Noor Huda Ismail told the Jakarta Globe.

“Before, officers from three different departments were involved in Densus 88. The officers conducting raids are from different divisions from those conducting surveillance, making communication difficult and often resulting in unsuccessful operations.”

Ismail highlighted the killing of terrorism suspect Dulmatin, who is believed to have participated in a series of bomb attacks in the country.

“The surveillance team had already identified him and had been on his tail for weeks before there was a raid. The surveillance team even reported that he was cornered and the raid team could have easily captured him alive but instead they shot him,” he said.

“Dulmatin is much more useful alive because he could provide a lot of valuable information on the Southeast Asia Al Qaeda terror network.”

Indonesia Police Watch chairman Neta S Pane said that the separation meant the counterterrorism squad would enjoy greater funding to fight terrorists.

“Densus 88 received a lot of financial support from other countries. If it remains under the detectives unit we wouldn’t know if the entire fund and equipment aid was channeled to the unit, funneled to other divisions or pocketed by rogue officials,” Neta told the Globe.

“There is no guarantee that the money will not be illegally pocketed. But at least by making Densus a dedicated department there should be more transparency and accountability of the spending.”

Ismail added that by making Densus 88 a separate department, communication would improve with other law enforcement agencies, particularly the newly established National Anti-Terrorism Agency (BNPT).

Human rights groups have criticized the formation of the BNPT saying that the agency paved the way for more involvement from the military, largely criticized for its past records of human rights violations.

Ismail said the military may in some cases be needed in counter-terrorism. “The military has more experience in jungle warfare and should have been involved in operations like that against the Aceh training camp,” the expert said.

Ismail was referring to a police crackdown in February of a suspected terrorism camp in Aceh. It took police three days, despite deploying at least 300 officers, before they finally took control of the camp, and another month before the majority of the 50 people involved in the camp were arrested. At least three officers were killed in the operation.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Marwoto Soeto said the squad would remain under a one-star general, despite earlier speculation that it would be headed by a two-star general. Densus 88 is currently headed by Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian.

The National Police also changed its internal structure for other divisions. Some divisions were merged, like Interpol affairs, which now comes under the International Relations Division.