South Sumatra Police Chief Urges Subordinates Not to Be Anti-Criticism: The Public Are Our Bosses

South Sumatra Police Chief (Kapolda Sumsel) Irjen Sandi Nugroho stated that the police must work for the public. He emphasised that the public are the bosses or superiors of the police.

This directive was delivered by Sandi during the routine coffee morning session with the Main Officials (PJU) of Polda Sumsel in the Transit Room of the Presisi Building at Polda Sumsel on Thursday (2/4/2026). He reminded that police performance can only be considered good when the public feels served and protected.

“We must always remember and instil that our customers, our bosses, are the public. We may feel internally that we are working well, but ultimately, it is the public as our ‘bosses’ who have the right to evaluate us,” said Sandi.

Sandi urged all ranks in Polda Sumsel not to be anti-criticism towards public input. He asked his subordinates to proactively open spaces for discussion and invite various community elements to provide direct feedback to Polda Sumsel.

“We will invite various community groups in rotation, starting from the soft, medium, to the hard ones. Even groups that have been fond of criticising the police will be specially invited. We are not anti-criticism. In fact, their sharp input is a ‘mirror’ for us to continuously improve police governance in the field,” he explained.

The coffee morning agenda, which began around 08:00 WIB, was preceded by a technical presentation from the Head of the Logistics Bureau (Karolog) of Polda Sumsel, Kombes Budi Santosa. In front of the Police Chief and the PJUs, Budi comprehensively dissected the main duties and functions of the Polri logistics sector, as well as the optimisation of asset use to support the smooth operations of members in the field.

All logistical readiness, facilities, and infrastructure were emphasised to ultimately serve one main goal: providing maximum and responsive service to the public.

Furthermore, the South Sumatra Police Chief requested the Directorate of Security Intelligence to facilitate face-to-face meeting spaces between police and residents to realise this humanistic approach.

“If we synergise and listen directly from the public as our ‘bosses’, we can mitigate various conflict potentials early on. The hope is that when we need support in carrying out our duties, the public already feels like part of the team in maintaining public security and order together with Polri,” Sandi concluded.