The Indonesian Forest Rangers ( id,
Polisi Ke
hutanan Indonesia, , Indonesian Forest Police) abbreviated "") is a
park ranger
A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks.
Description
"Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in thi ...
civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
within the
Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia. It serves on a national and regional level in the country. Polhut is a dedicated unit in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to
preserve and protect forest within its authority given by law in
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
and
wildlife
Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...
.
Despite having the word "", translated as "
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
", on its name, Polhut is not part of the
Indonesian National Police
''
, mottotranslated = (Serving the Nation)
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, dissolved =
, superseding =
, employees = 440,000 (2020)
, volunteers =
, budget =
, nongovernment ...
(Polri).
History
Before the
colonization period of the Netherlands (before 1592), there was no dedicated unit acting as park ranger. However, the function was already covered in
customary law
A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law".
Customary law (also, consuetudina ...
and local culture and tradition in preserving and protection forest and its wildlife; these were already done from generation to generation.
Dedicated personnel as park rangers were created, , during the colonization period of the Netherlands. In 1620, formal rules were introduced, including prohibitions against cutting down forest trees without permits, and the introduction of , whose main purpose was to help in preserving and protecting the forest. In 1870, an agrarian law to define the forest area was introduced. A year later, an official park ranger named was formed with the main task of overseeing any forest boundary violations. The first park ranger school was established in
Madiun
Madiun ( jv, ꦑꦸꦛꦩꦝꦶꦪꦸꦤ꧀, translit=Kutha Madhiun) is a landlocked city in the western part of East Java, Indonesia, known for its agricultural center. It was formerly (until 2010) the capital of the Madiun Regency, but is now adm ...
in 1941.
During the
colonization period of Japan, the park ranger school in Madiun was closed and re-established in October 1943 as to train , which originated from and . During this period the park rangers were heavily trained in the military style.
15 years after the
independence of Indonesia
The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of t ...
, Director I Perhutani
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
(now, Perhutani Unit I Central Java) with Commander of Police 94
Pati considered that it was necessary to form the park ranger police , or Special Forest Police, to tackle security disturbance in the forest within former Central Java.
Minister of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
Decree No 194/Kpts/Um/3/1982 dated 27 March 1982 regarding Special Forestry Police for all Indonesia was issued. The decree also defined the difference between Special Forestry Police and Special Forest Police (for Perhutani territory only).
Minister of Forestry Decree No 471/Kpts-II/1988 dated 30 September 1988, formally revised the Special Forestry Police's name to be . Minister of Forestry Decree No 378/Kpts-V/1999 dated 28 Mei 1999, retracted the previous decree and revised the name of to be , abbreviated .
Task and function
POLHUT have three main tasks, which are preemptive, preventive and repressive actions.
Preemptive
Preemptive actions' primary purpose is to prevent, reduce, and eliminate the intent of any person or group to perform forestry crimes. Such actions are as follows:
* Public awareness and counseling
* Guidance and community awareness
Preventive
Preventive action is any action in order to prevent, reduce, or eliminate any possibility of any person or group to perform forestry crimes. Such action are as follows:
* Forest patrol
* Guard certain areas
* Identification of threats, security problems, or crime potency
Repressive
Repressive actions consist of but not limited to:
*
Law enforcement operations
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
*
Evidence gathering
* Securing evidence
*
Suspect arrest operations
* Wildlife conflicts
*
Firefighting
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter.
Firefighters typically ...
*
Suspect, witness or evidence escort
Organization
POLHUT organization
consists of:
* (National Forest Rangers)
* (Regional Forest Rangers)
* (forest rangers for , whereas is a state-owned enterprise which has the duty and authority to manage the state forest resources in Java and Madura)
POLHUT has its own rapid response unit formed in 2005, named (Forest Rangers Rapid Response Unit),
translated as POLHUT's rapid response unit. Based on Minister of Forestry decree No.P.75/Menhut-II/2014 regarding POLHUT, SPORC is a unit within POLHUT with enhanced qualification to overcome forestry security issues in an efficient, effective and accurate manner.
Weapons
POLHUT officers are trained in the use of firearms for protection. Semi-automatic pistols are issued to most units. SPORC officers are also trained in the use of shotguns and sub-machine guns.
*
CZ 83 – standard issue sidearm
*
PM1 A1 – standard issue SMG, locally manufactured Beretta M12 by
Pindad
PT Pindad (Persero) ( id, Perindustrian Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Darat, ), is an Indonesian state-owned enterprise specialising in military and commercial products. Pindad provides the armaments and munitions for the Indonesian ...
under license
*
Vepr-12
The Vepr-12 is a multipurpose semi-automatic detachable-magazine shotgun, produced by Molot-Oruzhie Ltd. It is patterned after the original Kalashnikov rifle and built on the heavier RPK light machine gun receiver.
History
Early versions of th ...
– standard issue shotgun
References
External links
*
Kementerian Kehutanan dan Lingkungan Hidup
{{Forestry
Forestry in Indonesia
Specialist law enforcement agencies of Indonesia