{
  "id": 18405316,
  "title": "The untouchables: The case for breaking up the National Police",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/the-untouchables-the-case-for-breaking-up-the-national-police",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-06T00:07:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Jakarta Post",
    "slug": "the-jakarta-post",
    "url": "https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2026/11/06/the-untouchables-the-case-for-breaking-up-the-national-police.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Indonesia has inadvertently created an \"untouchable\" police force that now poses a threat to democracy, according to a recent report. The wiretapping of President Prabowo Subianto and his ministers by senior police generals is a clear indication of the police's excessive power and influence.\n\nThe police force, which was intended to be professional and civilian in nature, has grown in size and authority over the past two decades. Despite efforts to professionalize the force in 1998, it has evolved into a hyper-centralized entity that answers primarily to the president.\n\nThis concentration of power has allowed the police to maintain a direct line to the president, granting them political leverage and institutional autonomy. The result has been a police force that is practically untouchable, with no real checks or balances in place.\n\nThe only way to address this issue and preserve democracy is to break up the National Police into smaller, more accountable units. This would involve stripping the police of their political leverage, imposing independent oversight, and decentralizing law enforcement. The current system, where the police chief serves at the president's discretion, must be dismantled to prevent further abuse of power.\n\nThe ongoing wiretapping scandal is just the latest in a long line of crises that have only served to reinforce the police's position of power. Until significant changes are made, Indonesia risks losing its democracy to an unaccountable police force.",
  "summary": "Indonesia built an untouchable police monster that now spies on the President himself—and the only way to save democracy is to break it up.",
  "key_points": [
    "Indonesia's police force has become untouchable and a threat to democracy.",
    "Police force grew in size and authority over two decades despite professionalization efforts.",
    "Break up National Police into smaller, accountable units to preserve democracy."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Hyper-centralization and political leverage within the National Police threaten Indonesian democracy by removing the essential checks and balances required to prevent senior officials from abusing their unchecked institutional autonomy.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}