Problems in Penitentiaries Not Yet Seriously Addressed
By
·4 minutes read
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
The 1.2 million ecstasy pills confiscated by the police as evidence, along with the suspected smugglers, are presented to reporters during a press conference the National Police headquarters in Jakarta, Tuesday (1/8). The ecstasy, smuggled into the country from the Netherlands, was seized from suspects An Liu Kit Cung, alias Acung, and Erwin. They both claimed to be under the orders of a Nusakambangan inmate.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Even though the government has for years declared a war on drugs, there have not been comprehensive steps to eradicate the forbidden substance. Problems in penitentiaries, which have thus far become a place to control drugs, have not been seriously addressed as well.
The war on drugs needs comprehensive and consistent policies, starting from the deliberation of anticipatory regulations, provision of funds and personnel, inter-institution coordination, up to strict supervision in the penitentiaries. Cases of drugs controlled by convicts from the penitentiaries have frequently been uncovered by the National Police and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN). However, even lately, the actions of drug convicts in the penitentiaries have become increasingly uncontrollable.
"There are convicts who make a drug factory in the penitentiary. This is not only for consumption alone, but to be circulated out. We have frequently communicated with the penitentiaries, but there have not been any improvements," said BNN Deputy for Eradication Affairs Insp. Gen. Arman Depari.
Instead of strengthening efforts to eradicate drugs, several government actions have undermined them. The government’s inconsistency in addressing drug-related problems was clearly seen in 2012. A drug dealer who had been sentenced to death, Meirika Franola, and an Australian drug smuggler who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Schapelle Corby, were granted clemency by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. While in the Tangerang penitentiary, Franola controlled the smuggling of 775 grams of sabu-sabu from India in November 2012.
The deputy director of the Strategic and Global Studies School at the University of Indonesia, Benny J. Mamoto, emphasized the importance of implementing systematic improvements in the management of penitentiaries. Benny said the system needed to be changed in the penitentiaries to avoid collusion between prison wardens and inmates.
Secretary of the Directorate General of Penitentiaries Sri Puguh Budi Utami said that drug circulation in the penitentiaries or detention houses still occurred even though the officers continued to conduct raids.
According to Sri, one of the problems is that the number of wardens and prisoners is not balanced. Based on data of the Directorate General of Penitentiaries in June 2017, about 52,000 prisoners were drug dealers and 31,000 others were drug users from a total of 84,000 special inmates.
Meanwhile, the number of wardens in penitentiaries or detention houses in Indonesia was only 15,400 people, assigned in 522 penitentiaries and detention houses inhabited by 225,000 convicts, even though their capacity was only 125,000 inmates. Each warden oversaw62 prisoners.
Government commitment
The rise of drugs being circulated concerned President Joko Widodo, who ordered the National Police and the BNN to act strictly against all drug dealers, Tuesday (1/8), in Yogyakarta.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati confirmed the government was committed to increasing the budget for the National Police and the BNN to strengthen drug prevention efforts. The strengthening of resources and facilities became the central point for law enforcement to enable the officers to anticipate developments related to narcotics.
National Police chief Gen. (Pol.) Tito Karnavian stressed that legal action was the most important step and that coordination among related institutions needed strengthening to anticipate drug crimes, which were occurring in increasingly varied modes.
Tito has cooperated with the police of the countries and regions of origin for drugs in circulation in Indonesia, such as China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry sees drugs as a serious problem. The cooperation has been discussed with the United Nations office for drug affairs, as well as the UNODC, WHO and Interpol.
Inter-sectoral
The director of the Control of Narcotics, Psychotropic, and Addictive Substances of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM),Rita Endang, said that, in eradicating narcotics, the BPOM played a role in supervising the circulation and distribution of narcotics from the upstream to downstream, from imports of raw materials and distribution, to its use in health facilities.
Narcotics and psychotropic supervision needs inter-sectoral cooperation and synergy because many new products appear.
The speed of the government in catching up with the development of new substances has become a challenge. Laboratory facilities and information technology systems need to be strengthened in order to assess the new substances faster.
The Health Ministry’s director general of Pharmacy and Medical Devices, Maura Linda Sitanggang, said that the ministry was trying to quickly respond to developments related to new psychoactive substances (NPS) by including it in the list of Class I narcotics. "This year, Health Ministerial Decree (Permenkes) No. 2 of 2017 was issued. Others will be in the near future. A total of 17 from the list of new substances recorded by Kompas have already been included in this Pemenkes," Maura said.
