Cop: Mother, I can help cook. You're tired yeah, cleaning, ironing, mopping, sweeping...
Woman: Sit down and relax my love, you're also tired working each day. Anyway active police officers aren't allowed to interfere in civilian affairs!!!
The Constitutional Court's November 13 ruling prohibiting active police officers from holding civilian government positions has sparked controversy over how to deal with the officers currently occupying posts in numerous ministries and state agencies.
Constitutional Court Ruling Number 114/PUU-XXIII/2025 struck down provisions that had allowed active members of the National Police (Polri) to occupy civilian positions through assignments by the National Police Chief. The new ruling mandates that police officers must now resign or retire before taking up positions outside the police structure.
The number of police officers in civilian positions has expanded dramatically over the last few years. According to official data, 4,351 police officers held positions outside the National Police in 2025, including 1,184 high-ranking officers. This represents a significant increase from 2,822 officers in 2024 and 3,424 in 2023.
Senior officers currently occupy prominent positions across numerous government institutions, including secretary-general positions at multiple ministries, inspector-general posts and the leadership of agencies such as the National Counter-Terrorism Agency. In March 2025 alone, the National Police Chief issued six telegrams assigning 25 high-ranking and mid-ranking officers to various ministries and institutions.
Despite the fact that Constitutional Court rulings are final and binding, whether the decision will be implemented has been cast into doubt by contradictory statements from government officials.
Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas stated that officers already serving in civilian posts would not be required to resign, arguing the ruling applies only to future appointments. Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Rini Widyantini meanwhile asserted that the government must respect the decision and that officers "must resign or retire".
As of late November however, only one officer had been withdrawn from a civilian position. National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo recalled Inspector General Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises on 20 November, describing it as demonstrating commitment to the ruling.
Constitutional law experts and civil society observers have demanded the full implementation of the ruling. Currently, the government appears to be "cherry picking" which Constitutional Court decisions to follow, implementing only those that serve its interests while ignoring rulings that do not.
[Abridged from a November 21 Human Rights Monitor report titled "Indonesian police face pressure to implement Constitutional Court ruling banning officers from civilian posts".]
