Suyudi's Promises as National Police Chief: Upholding Justice and Getting Closer to the Community
General Suyudi Ario Seto has officially assumed office as the Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri). Suyudi has pledged to reform the Polri institution to regain the trust of the Indonesian people.
He has revealed several major steps for the transformation of the police force under his leadership.
Institutional Strengthening
General Suyudi intends to strengthen the Polri institution. He envisions the National Police Headquarters (Mabes Polri) as strategic and lean, Regional Police (Polda) as professional and supportive, District Police (Polres) as strong basic operational units, and Sector Police (Polsek) as resilient and closely connected to the community.
“This structure and approval layers that do not add value will be reviewed for simplification. This strengthening will focus on the front lines based on workload, regional area, risk, access, and service needs,” said Suyudi.
Banning Nepotism in Police Recruitment
General Suyudi will overhaul the entire Human Resources (HR) cycle of the Polri, including the recruitment process.
“The entire HR cycle will be improved, from planning, recruitment, education, placement, career, competence, and welfare, to retirement. Meritocracy and integrity records will be the foundation,” he said.
He emphasised that there must be no room for ‘entrusted’ candidates or nepotism. He stated that high-performing officers must be given career opportunities.
“There must be no room for ‘titipan’ (nepotism), transactions, or sponsorship. High-achieving members will be protected and given career space. Violations will be dealt with proportionally and consistently,” he explained.
Suyudi aims to strengthen public services. In his view, police services must shift from merely fulfilling procedures to meeting the needs of citizens.
“The internal structure of Polri must not burden the community. Digitalisation must close the space for illegal levies (pungli). It should not require face-to-face interaction, but must be available to the public in need,” he stated.
Upholding Justice
His next programme is the enforcement of legal justice. General Suyudi wants the measure of success in law enforcement to no longer be judged solely by the number of cases handled.
“The measure of success will shift from the quantity of cases to the quality of handling. It must be accurate, legal, evidence-based, certain, and just. Case management, SP2HP (Police Investigation Progress Report), supervision, case reviews, forensics, digital forensics, financial analysis, and asset tracking will be strengthened,” he explained.
Furthermore, he noted the strengthening of oversight. He wants the Polri oversight system to move from a reactive pattern to a risk-based approach.
“Complaints must have a traceable person in charge. Protection for whistleblowers and results, and oversight findings must lead to correction, consequences, recovery, and the prevention of recurrence,” he clarified.