Indonesia's new police chief moved fast to shake up the force. Can he change its culture?

JAKARTA: Within two days of taking charge of Indonesia’s national police, Suyudi Ario Seto began reshaping the force.

Seventy officers were promoted or given new appointments on Oct 3, while 18 others received new remits, as part of wide sweeping changes, which also saw many others reassigned to make way for the newly promoted officers.  

Among the major changes, the police chief of the Riau Islands province, which is south of Singapore, was appointed head of the national criminal investigation agency. 

The Jakarta police chief has been appointed chief of the National Police’s General Supervision Inspectorate and the Riau province police chief, who was previously with the police’s counterterrorism unit Densus 88, has been tasked to oversee public security and order.

Political watchers and former senior officers whom CNA spoke to suggested several different reasons for the speed and scale of the reshuffle.

Several said it was part and parcel of generational renewal and an attempt to better match key appointments with officers with specific expertise. Others suggested that the moves were to disrupt established hierarchies and remove centres of influence associated with Suyudi’s predecessor.

The question some are asking is whether these personnel changes will lead to a change in the culture of the institution.

Suyudi, 53, who was sworn in as national police chief by President Prabowo Subianto on Oct 1, is a 1994 police academy graduate whose career has included criminal investigation, cybercrime, regional command and narcotics enforcement.

He has indicated that he wants the police to become more responsive to the public. As part of that, a new tagline was unveiled on Oct 5: “Polisi Bersama Masyarakat”, or “Police Together with the Community”.

Public expectations are high for a change in the way the police operate after Suyudi's immediate predecessor, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, became embroiled in a number of controversies. 

These included tensions between the police force and the Attorney General’s Office over graft and money laundering probes implicating senior officials at both institutions, and allegations against the police of abuse of power and brutality, culminating in protests last August when a delivery driver was fatally struck by an armoured police vehicle.

The sudden changes have cast a spotlight on the issues Suyudi intends to address and whether moving people at the higher levels will translate into deeper reform. 

But analysts told CNA that the real test is whether his personnel changes will alter how officers behave towards the public. 

“We have to see whether these changes alter the culture and change public services,” said Bambang Rukminto, an analyst from Jakarta-based think tank Institute of Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS).

“If not, this is just changing the players.”

“Police Together with the Community” is not the first new tagline that Suyudi has rolled out.

During his tenure as police chief of Banten - a province bordering Jakarta - from June 2024 to August 2025, Suyudi called on officers to be humane but firm, promoting the motto “Polisi HEBAT” - Humanis, Eksis, Bermanfaat, Antisipatif dan Tegas (“humane, present, beneficial, anticipatory and firm”).

That approach faced a high-profile test in January 2025, after officers at Cinangka subdistrict police station in Banten failed to respond appropriately to a request for police assistance by a car-rental owner, who was fatally shot after making the call.  

Suyudi publicly acknowledged the failures and removed the local police chief and two officers from their posts pending an internal professional standards investigation into alleged unprofessional conduct.

His most recent role was head of the national narcotics agency (BNN), from August 2025, where he pursued what the agency called a “war on drugs for humanity”, combining enforcement against traffickers with rehabilitation for drug users.

In one nationwide operation in November 2025, BNN and other agencies raided 53 drug hotspots across 34 provinces and detained 1,259 people.

Following further investigations, 37 people were named suspects while 369 underwent rehabilitation, according to BNN.

His record points to an approach that combines firm enforcement with an emphasis on public service, experts said. 

However, whether the initial quick personnel changes and his track record indicate an appetite for deeper reforms of the national police force is another matter, they said. 

“After this overhaul at the elite level, the question is whether it will also be followed by changes to the lower levels,” Bambang said.

SWIFT CHANGES

The police overhaul that Suyudi ordered reached some of the most powerful positions in the national police hierarchy. 

Asep Safrudin, formerly the police chief of the Riau Islands province, was appointed head of the national criminal investigation agency. His predecessor Syahardiantono has been reassigned to the presidential staff office.

Meanwhile, former Jakarta police chief Asep Edi Suheri has been appointed chief of the National Police’s General Supervision Inspectorate. He succeeds Wahyu Widada, who has been moved to serve as a high-ranking officer at the ministry of agrarian affairs and spatial planning.

Riau province police chief, Herry Heryawan, who has prior experience in criminal investigation, the police’s counterterrorism unit Densus 88, and regional command roles, was appointed to oversee public security and order. He replaces Karyoto, who will retire at the end of this month and who, like some Indonesians, goes by one name.

Dedy Kusuma Bakti, who previously held a senior intelligence and security role, was promoted to take the overall lead in those functions.

Former national police commissioner Poengky Indarti said these key appointments represented a natural progression for them given their relevant prior experience. 

“The (police’s) professionalism will be strengthened, and this signals a positive trend for the enhancement of the national police's performance,” she added. 

The changes also extended well beyond national headquarters.

Nineteen of Indonesia’s provincial police chiefs were rotated on Oct 3, including commanders responsible for Jakarta and several of the country’s most populous provinces in Java, as well as resource-rich provinces in Sumatra and Sulawesi.

Suyudi also changed the leadership of Densus 88 by promoting its deputy chief, Tubagus Ami Prindani, to head the unit.

He appointed a new cybercrime director, Suhermanto, who had previously been assigned to the national narcotics agency.

In all, 70 senior and mid-ranking officers were promoted or given new appointments.

“He wants to make radical changes,” Bambang said, arguing that the speed could be intended to signal the necessity of reform. He described the overhaul as unusually fast and likened its scale to “bedol desa”, an Indonesian expression referring to moving an entire village.

He said one possible explanation was that Suyudi wanted both generational renewal and also to disrupt established structures within the police.

Head of non-governmental organisation (NGO) Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) Sugeng Teguh Santoso said the reshuffle was designed partly to remove centres of influence associated with Suyudi’s predecessor.

Suyudi has strong political backing to make such changes as he was President Prabowo’s sole pick to become the police chief.  

“It appears the strategy is to completely overhaul the personnel at national police headquarters first, and only then consolidate the programmes,” Sugeng said.

“This is so the new police chief can control the institution under one command.”

But not all experts saw the speed as particularly significant.

Former national police commission commissioner Poengky said that while the turnaround appeared quick, early reshuffles by incoming police chiefs are not unusual.

Former police chief Tito Karnavian, who is now home affairs minister, moved 110 personnel nine days after becoming police chief in July 2016, she noted, while Idham Azis transferred 170 personnel seven days after taking office in November 2019.

“There is nothing strange or problematic with this reshuffle,” Poengky told CNA, describing such rotations as part of “regeneration, renewal and organisational strengthening”.

She also argued that several appointments matched officers with their expertise, citing Dedy’s appointment to lead intelligence and Herry’s move to the security maintenance agency following experience in criminal investigations, counterterrorism and regional policing.

“Essentially, professionalism is being strengthened,” she said.

CHANGING MORE THAN THE LEADERSHIP

Suyudi’s bigger task now is whether he can change the police’s military culture, experts said, followed by other challenges such as tackling narcotics, online gambling and even terrorism. 

Bambang from ISESS said that police often treat protests as security threats rather than events where police should protect peaceful demonstrators while isolating those who might be committing violence.

At the end of August last year, a motorcycle taxi driver was killed by an armoured police vehicle in Jakarta, triggering nationwide protests. It became the most serious unrest of Prabowo's presidency so far since his appointment in October 2024.

Jakarta-based NGO KontraS recorded 561 incidents of police violence between July 2025 and June 2026. Although this is lower than previous years, where KontraS recorded 602 incidents between July 2024 and June 2025 and 641 cases between July 2023 and June 2024, the police have continued to come in for public criticism.

Sugeng from IPW said changes to the way the police operate on the ground will only work if they are backed up by officers at a higher level willing to enforce them among rank-and-file personnel.

“Reform of police culture will be difficult to achieve if it is only imposed on rank-and-file officers,” he said.

“The leadership must set an example in integrity, discipline, transparency, communication, decision-making, and in giving rewards and sanctions.”

Bambang said the police also need to tackle weaknesses in meritocracy and alleged corruption in law enforcement.

Existing complaint channels, he said, mean little if people cannot see meaningful follow-up.

Poengky similarly said cultural reform must be pursued proactively.

“Police officers must be humane, respect human rights and be professional,” she said, adding that officers must also stop appearing to be arrogant, stop displays of luxury, and curb excessive violence and corrupt behaviour.

Responsibility should extend up the chain of command, she said, with supervisors who fail to control their subordinates themselves facing investigation and sanctions where appropriate.

The threats confronting police are meanwhile becoming more complex.

Poengky pointed to narcotics, online gambling, illegal online lending, human trafficking, fraud, cyber-enabled sexual violence and street crime, which have existed for years, but recently the modi operandi have become increasingly more sophisticated and even cross-border.

“The police need to respond quickly and professionally, without having to wait for a report, let alone for it to go viral,” she said.

Terrorism also remains an operational challenge.

Within days of Suyudi becoming police chief, Densus 88 announced the arrests of 12 suspected terrorists linked to Daulah Islamiyah in six provinces.

So far, little has been said about the suspects and their alleged roles, Sugeng said. He suggested that transparency around such operations, within limitations arising from ongoing investigations, would help reassure the public. 

“The public needs an explanation of who these people are and what their roles actually were,” he said.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Given the scale of the challenges, analysts said Suyudi’s first 100 days will provide an early indication of whether the reshuffle represents more than a change in personnel.

His stated priorities range from combating gambling, narcotics and digital fraud to strengthening district and sub-district police units.

But measures of progress will extend beyond arrests and crime statistics.

They will include whether complaints against officers receive meaningful follow-up, whether commanders are held accountable for misconduct by their subordinates, whether the handling of demonstrations changes and, ultimately, whether Suyudi’s emphasis on community policing filters down from national headquarters to officers dealing with people every day.

Bambang said it remains too early to determine whether the personnel reshuffle represents genuine institutional change.

“The hope is that it will not merely be a change of personnel, but that it will truly change the culture of service to the public and encourage fairer and more transparent law enforcement,” he said.

“Otherwise, the public will become increasingly apathetic towards the police.”

Sugeng said cultural reform and stronger supervision should now become Suyudi’s priority.

For Poengky, the key test is whether the new chief’s message reaches officers throughout the force.

Suyudi’s call for police to remain close to the community should remind officers that their role is to serve, protect and enforce the law for the public, she said. “They are there because they are tasked with serving, protecting and safeguarding,” Poengky said.

“Police officers must not hurt and abandon the community.”