A fatal oversight in Indonesia’s history of political reform is the absence of efforts to reform Indonesian police. The militaristic nature of the police lingers despite two decades of institutional separation with the armed forces. But any efforts to reform them cannot be left to the hands of the president, parliament, or the internal police structure. Instead, reform must come from those who represent civilians.
Since President's Suharto regime was toppled in 1998, demands to reform the police appeared only sporadically, dying down as soon as they surfaced. Both reformists and post-Suharto governments never exerted a concerted attempt to push police reformation.
The post-Suharto police force was better than the military in combating drug-related crimes, terrorism, and public security during the critical moments of regional and national elections. But they continue to violate human rights. Throughout Joko Widodo’s presidency, press, non government activists and academics have been wary of the emergence of an Indonesian “police state”, as high-ranking police officers assume leadership posts in powerful state institutions such as the Indonesian Intelligence Agency, Corruption Eradication Commission, and several ministries. The numerous privileges president Joko Widodo granted for police officers has led to a “police double-function” (dwi fungsi polisi) that risks evoking demands from the military to be treated in equal fashion. The end result, it is predicted by a Tempo editorial, will be the erosion of democracy and civilian authority in the future.
