The Indonesian Police are sometimes referred to as crocodiles
After he was forced to step down as the head of the National Police’s Crime Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) over controversies including pursuing politicized cases against leaders of the Corruption Eradication Agency (KPK), Budi Waseso was demoted to head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN). As BNN chief, Budi quickly made clear he was going to take an extremely hardline stance against all drug users and dealers in the country. He won worldwide infamy for his outlandish plans to build a remote island prison for drug dealers surrounded by crocodiles, tigers and piranhas and he also said he would push to have drug dealers punished by forcing them to eat all of the narcotics they were caught with.
On top of those horrible ideas, Budi also started off his tenure as BNN chief by stating that he wanted to eliminate rehabilitation as a possibility for drug users altogether, believing the option was being taken advantage of by drug dealers to get lighter sentences.
Fortunately the man who took over for Budi as the country’s chief of detectives, Anang Iskandar, who also happens to have been the former head of BNN, seems to have a much more realistic approach to drug policy. In a classified order he sent out to the police, dated October 26, 2015, he instructed officers to focus on getting drug addicts into rehabilitation rather than jail, much in defiance of Budi’s stated intentions.
The order also asks that police departments establish evaluation teams, consisting of police certified medical experts to determine whether those caught with drugs should be classified as addicts and given rehabilitation or whether they are dealers or recreational users that should be charged as criminals.
“The medical team should consists of at least two people from the police or the civil police who are trained as assessors and certified by the Center for Medicine and Health National Police as well as have experience in medical and psychiatric issues.” Anang said at National Police Headquarters on Friday, as quoted by Tribunnews.
It should be noted that Anang’s orders are based on already existing laws that support the use of rehabilitation in treating drug users and does not contravene any existing laws.
Studies have shown that rehabilitation is preferable to incarceration for drug users, both in terms of reducing overall drug use rates and costs to the state. As somebody who headed the BNN for years, it seems Anang has learned a great deal about the realities of drug use that Budi would do well to learn himself, rather than spending time drawing up his next crocodile fantasy prison.
