Salah laku polis, penyelia juga perlu dipertanggungjawab, kata pakar kriminologi

Policing authorities must bolster risk-based oversight through monitoring, auditing, and early detection of misconduct, according to Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid, a criminology expert from Universiti Malaya (UM). The accountability of police misconduct should not stop at lower-ranking members, but should also involve accomplices and management, she emphasized.

On Monday, eight police officers, including seven in various IPD Sentul branches and one in IPD Brickfields, were detained on suspicion of involvement in illegal gambling activities at Taman Keramat. This case cannot be seen as merely an individual issue, as surrounding factors, work culture, and negligence of accomplices also need to be assessed, Haezreena explained.

While the Jabatan Integriti dan Pematuhan Standard (JIPS) operation shows an internal surveillance mechanism functioning, success in detecting any specific case has not yet proved that preventative systems are effective. She suggested that police need to strengthen risk-based oversight through monitoring, auditing, and early detection of misconduct in units more exposed to misconduct.

"Accountability also needs to encompass the level of accomplices and management, not just lower-ranking members," she told FMT. Haezreena also noted that "silence culture" within the unit needs to be addressed by providing safe reporting channels and protecting members from retaliatory actions. "Loyalty to fellow members should not override professional responsibility," she added, stressing the importance of public trust in thorough investigations and the institution's efforts to fix weaknesses.

Meanwhile, P Sundramoorthy from USM agreed, stating the case should trigger a comprehensive internal review to assess whether early signs of misconduct can be detected and whether the reporting mechanism functions effectively. He also highlighted that peer pressure, groupthink, rationalization, and normalization of misconduct can push members to commit violations when they see such actions not resulting in clear consequences.

"Police integrity cannot be built solely through punishment. PDRM needs to strengthen risk-based early warning systems, while unit-level accomplices must be more active, as integrity is not solely the responsibility of JIPS," he stated.