Observer Praises Police Chief for Allowing Civil Servants to Fill Police Positions

Jakarta - Senior political observer Boni Hargens has praised National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo for opening up space for civil servants to occupy positions within the police institution. According to him, this step is a paradigmatic breakthrough signifying a transformation of smart thinking in adapting security institutions to civil society within the praxis of contemporary democracy. ‘I appreciate the intelligence of Police Chief Listyo Sigit in maintaining a balance between two forces, namely the demands for police reform from the public and the proactive stance of the National Police in uniting with the community,’ Boni stated in a release received in Jakarta on Wednesday. He said this idea is not merely an administrative technical change but a paradigm shift in how security institutions view themselves in relation to civil society, moving from a militaristic hierarchical approach towards a democratic collaborative approach. Therefore, the Police Chief is considered to have successfully positioned the National Police not only as an object of reform demands but also as an active subject that proactively embraces the values of civilian openness without sacrificing institutional integrity and operational capacity. ‘This step places Indonesia on par with the best practices of advanced democratic countries that have integrated civilian expertise into their police institutions,’ he said. He emphasised that this policy is highly significant and fundamental for strengthening democracy going forward. According to him, the integration of civil ASNs into the National Police brings a number of structural and normative implications that must be observed by all stakeholders, ranging from lawyers, notaries, and legal academics to independent oversight bodies. In the long term, Boni estimates that this policy lays the foundation for a more mature Indonesian democracy, where state security institutions are no longer closed entities but an integral part of an open and accountable civil government ecosystem. For this reason, he believes that the policy of opening National Police positions for civilian ASNs needs to be followed up with clear technical regulations, including criteria for fillable positions, selection mechanisms, and guarantees of functional independence, to ensure effective and equitable implementation. This was conveyed by Listyo while speaking at the Supervisory Coordination Meeting of the National Police Commission at the Mercure Ancol Hotel, North Jakarta, on Wednesday. ‘The proposal has indeed not been accommodated in the law, but we will regulate it through government regulations or presidential regulations so that this reciprocal mechanism can be implemented,’ said Listyo. According to him, this idea emerged in response to the provisions in the revision of Law Number 2 of 2002 on the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia, which allows National Police members to occupy certain positions in civilian institutions.