Australia-RI training center focuses on transnational crime

The state-of-the-art Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) was established in 2004 with the cooperation of the governments of Australia and Indonesia. The center's executive director Brig. Gen. Adjie Rustam Ramdja talked to The Jakarta Post's Irawaty Wardany recently about the center's activities.

Question: What exactly is the JCLEC for?

Answer: We conduct international training on transnational crimes for the law enforcement community. Almost all law enforcers from police, prosecutors, judges, tax officers, customs officers and immigration officers to intelligence officers have participated in JCLEC courses. If we want to talk percentages, probably 70 percent of participants are police, 20 percent other law enforcers and the remaining 10 percent from foreign countries.

We are now focusing on ASEAN and Asia Pacific countries. But this year there were participants from India and next year there will be participants from the Middle East to join a course on human trafficking.

The training center was built with the cooperation of Indonesian and Australian governments, and also supported by donor countries like the Netherlands, Canada, England and several European countries. Those countries support us by giving us equipment, like Denmark, for example, which donated computers. But most of the time the donor countries support specific courses. Italy supported a course on maritime crimes, Australia on forensic crimes and England on crimes against women and children.

What is the role of Australia in JCLEC management?

We jointly manage the center, so the JCLEC is an independent foundation. It is neither under the Indonesian National Police nor the Australian Federal Police even though the National Police Chief and Australian Federal Police Commissioner are on the Board of Patrons. Under the Board of Patrons there is a Board of Management with Lester Cross as Program Director, me (as Executive Director) and two other people.

How do you determine the courses offered?

Each year we (managers) of the JCLEC meet with law enforcement officials and make an analysis of training needs. Then we make plans to conduct a course, like terrorism investigation, for example. After we develop the program we then offer it to donor countries, which either give us funding or provide equipment needed for the course.

If a country sponsors a course, it is allowed to determine the course duration or the number of the course's participants and their qualifications.

How long do most of the courses run?

Only two to three weeks at the most, but all lecturers are experts in their fields and they come from both (Indonesia and overseas). At the end of a course all participants are given certificates (signifying they have met) international standards.

Are all Indonesian law enforcers obliged to join the courses?

No. Even the police are not obliged to join. So our courses we are more like continuing education courses with international standards. All training comes from experts in their fields, either from Indonesia or overseas.

How does a person join a course?

Each time we will conduct courses we send letters to all law enforcement institutions ... along with qualifications needed to join a course. They then determine an officer or officers who meet the requirements and send them here.

How many law enforcers have attended JCLEC courses?

There are around 3,000 alumnae from the National Police and other law enforcers both domestic and foreign. They come from 35 Asian and Asia Pacific countries.

Have you conducted some kind of evaluation of the alumnae?

We are planning to survey the alumnae next year to know what improvements they made after taking a course here. But at the end of each course, we always ask for feedback to determine what needs to be improved in the next course.