National Police Chief Shares Rejection of 'Deposits' for Police Academy Entry, Reaffirms Institutional Integrity
National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo has reaffirmed that the recruitment of cadets for the Police Academy (Akpol) is conducted with full transparency. Nevertheless, General Sigit shared that he has received WhatsApp messages requesting assistance to ensure certain candidates pass the Akpol selection process.
He disclosed this during the 2026 Fiscal Year Coordination Meeting for Supervision (Rakorwas) of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) in the Ancol area, North Jakarta. He emphasised that the Indonesian National Police (Polri) is committed to internal improvements, particularly regarding the recruitment of Akpol cadets.
“Currently, we are continuously improving the supervision of Polri recruitment, specifically for Akpol,” said General Sigit on Wednesday (10/6/2026).
The Police Chief asserted that the era of ‘intercession’ has ended. He ensured that there are no longer any special quotas in the recruitment process to maintain the integrity of Polri’s reform.
“I apologise to those here; perhaps some of your children are applying for Akpol, but we cannot do much to help because it has become our commitment that there are no more special quotas from the Chief of Police,” General Sigit stated firmly.
He mentioned that the Assistant for Human Resources of the National Police, Inspector General Anwar, is often under significant pressure when the recruitment season arrives. This is because the announcement of selection results is now final and cannot be altered.
“So, every day I scold Mr. Anwar, saying, ‘Why are there still WhatsApp messages from me asking for their children to pass the next stage, even though Mr. Anwar has already made the announcement?’ I even thought perhaps the people instructing Mr. Anwar’s subordinates were the ones messaging me,” joked General Sigit.
The former Head of Criminal Investigation (Kabareskrim) revealed that these ‘requests’ come from various parties, ranging from officials to former leaders of the National Police. However, he chose to remain firm and reject all such requests to safeguard the institution’s integrity.
General Sigit admitted that it is better to be reprimanded by those attempting to secure admissions than to damage the system currently being built by the National Police. This step is taken to prove to the public that the Polri institution is serious about its transformation.
“The risk is that we might be reprimanded. But hopefully, what we are doing is not because we do not want to help, but because this is part of our effort to show that the Polri institution is currently reforming to become better,” said Sigit.
Commitment to Transparent and Accountable Akpol Selection
It was previously reported that the Assistant for Human Resources, Inspector General Anwar, emphasised that Akpol recruitment is conducted professionally, prioritising the principles of being clean, transparent, accountable, and humane (BETAH). All participants are guaranteed equal opportunities without any special treatment.
“What I always convey and repeat is that this recruitment uses the BETAH principle: clean, transparent, accountable, and humane. All participants have the same opportunity,” said Inspector General Anwar in a statement on Monday (8/6).
Anwar explained that the selection stage has entered the second phase of health examinations (Rikkes II), which took place on 5-6 June 2026. A total of 513 participants, consisting of 468 men and 45 women, were declared passed to proceed to that stage.
He also emphasised that this year, the National Police has only opened one entry point, namely through the national regular track. A knockout system is strictly applied at every stage of the selection process.
“There is no such thing as a special quota, achievement track, intercession track, special treatment, or additional quota. I am stating that none of those five things exist,” said Anwar.
Anwar ensured that the National Police is committed to a selection process free from practices of corruption, collusion, and nepotism (KKN). Consequently, strict supervision is conducted both internally and by external parties.
“The 2026 Fiscal Year Akpol recruitment is only through one track, which is the national regular track. There are no other tracks or other quotas such as special quotas, Headquarters quotas, or any other additional quotas,” Anwar asserted.