Police Reform Must Not Be Half-Hearted

September 29, 2025 | 09:57 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police went ahead and established a reform team similar to that already proposed by the Presidential Palace. Police improvements must begin with Prabowo.

HOPING for reforms in the Police is like waiting for the cows to come home. Systemic damage within the Indonesian National Police (Polri) means that it is difficult to hope for real change.

President Prabowo Subianto promised to reform the police as a response to the demands from the demonstrations that ended in violence at the end of August 2025. He appointed former Deputy Police Chief, Gen. (ret.) Ahmad Dofiri as special presidential advisor for security affairs, public order and police reforms.

While the Palace was still forming the team that would assist Ahmad Dofiri, Polri Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo established the National Police Reform Transformation Team on September 17, 2025. This team comprises 52 senior and middle-ranking police officers. Listyo Sigit will have an oversight role, while Gen. Chryshnanda Dwilaksana, Chief of the Police Education and Training Division, was appointed to chair the team.

Although the Palace claimed to welcome the establishment of this team, Listyo Sigit’s move has led to accusations that he is opposing the plan to reform the police, which Prabowo wants to see happen. The order signed by Listyo Sigit establishing the Reform Transformation Team contained no mention of the Police Reform Commission established by Prabowo.

Suspicions of dissent arose because the main task of the Police Reform Commission is to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the institution. One key element of this is the dismissal of Listyo Sigit. Having held the position for four years and eight months, the longest serving police chief in history, Listyo is considered as one of the root causes of the problems within the force.

Deeply damaged, Polri provides “benefits” to many state officials. It is already public knowledge that officers are skilled at currying favor with senior officials, including the president, when carrying out duties that are not officially part of their responsibility to maintain order. From the food sustainability program to the nutritious meals project, they do it all. It was also widely rumored that the police intervention played a role in the victory of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka in the 2024 presidential election.

Since the Joko Widodo era, the disparities in Polri ranks and positions have been widened by unacceptable practices. Low-ranking police officers are obliged to carry out their duties maintaining security and order, while middle-ranking and senior officers provide services to the elites and oligarchs. And it is in this regard that promotions and positions are “bought and sold” through brutal transactional politics.

Nearly all middle-ranking and senior officers seek influential connections to survive internal rivalries that ignore the principles of a merit-based organization. Those who do not have backing have no hope of promotion or new positions. The phrase “wet posting” refers to positions in which it is possible to exploit lucrative state resources. And there are also dry positions.

The multi-level marketing practices—in which lower ranking officers have to make regular illegal contributions to their superior officers—must be stopped. This obligation to provide the contribution means that officers at every level are busy looking for ways to obtain illicit funds so they can transfer money to their superior officers, while at the same time filling their own pockets. It is simply not possible that the team established by Listyo Sigit will be able to fix this systemic damage.

The Police Reform Commission established by Prabowo has an opportunity to improve matters if it is prepared to involve public figures with integrity. The main responsibility of this commission is to break the mutual symbiosis chain linking Polri to the people running the country. One way to do this would be to completely redesign Polri, possibly including placing it under a ministry.

Conversely, Prabowo must stop turning the police into a cash cow. Illegal sources of police funding—such as working as hired thugs or backers—must be stopped. Police funding must be made more effective so that it reaches its target and is used properly.

And police must never again be used to help win an election. Polri neutrality must be put into practice, not simply written in huge letters on propaganda banners. In other words, Polri reform must start with Prabowo himself.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

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