ICJR Rejects Military Role in Robbery Crackdown, Cites ABRI's Dual Function Logic

JAKARTA - The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) has stated that involving the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) in anti-mugging operations repeats the ABRI dual function logic. ICJR insists that crime prevention is the police’s domain as law enforcement agencies. ‘Law enforcement is the police’s domain, not the military. Deploying combat battalions to pursue civilian criminals is not only a violation of authority but also a repetition of ABRI’s dual function logic,’ said ICJR researcher Iqbal Muharam on Monday, 25 May 2026. ‘ICJR strongly opposes TNI involvement in this street crime crackdown. The TNI Act does not stipulate handling civilian criminality as a primary task for TNI,’ he added. He also addressed the controversy over the ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy for muggers, stating it is incorrect. The state has no right to execute citizens without a clear judicial process. ‘Police repeatedly use the phrase ’firm and measured’ as justification. ICJR reminds that under current law, ‘measured’ means proportionate to the real threat on the ground at that moment, not a planned execution against specific offender categories,’ Iqbal said. The regulation states that firearm use is a last resort and must follow principles of necessity, proportionality, and reasonableness based on field conditions. Similar provisions are outlined in Police Regulation No. 8 of 2009 and the Human Rights Law No. 39 of 1999. These rules emphasise that firearms should only be used in extreme situations to protect lives from immediate and real threats of death. ‘Institutional orders to shoot specific offender categories are legally indefensible as they eliminate situational assessment, which is central to the principle of proportionality, and risk extrajudicial killings,’ Iqbal stressed. ICJR also called for comprehensive oversight of the ‘Begal Hunters’ task force by supervisory bodies, including the House of Representatives (DPR), National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), and National Police Commission (Kompolnas).