Nabiila Azzahra, Jakarta – The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) recorded 411 cases of shooting by police officers over the past year. The figure is based on the organization's observation of police violence throughout July 2024-June 2025.
Shootings are recorded as the most frequently committed form of violence by the police, according to KontraS's latest policy paper entitled 'Bhayangkara Day 2025: Soaring Violence Amidst Imbalanced Law Enforcement.'
"At least in our records, there are 411 cases of shootings committed by the police," said KontraS' Deputy Coordinator for External Affairs, Andrie Yunus, during the launch of the policy paper at the KontraS office in Central Jakarta on Monday, June 30, 2025.
According to KontraS's documents, the Indonesian National Police (Polri) have been responsible for 602 violent incidents over the past year. Following the highest number of shooting cases, the police also recorded 81 cases of assault.
Furthermore, the police are said to have carried out 72 cases of arbitrary arrest, 43 cases of forced dispersal, 38 cases of torture, 24 cases of intimidation, nine cases of criminalization, seven cases of sexual violence, and four other inhumane acts.
Andrie stated that the police should not administer punishment by directly shooting individuals. He explained that suspicion against an individual must come with two preliminary items of evidence. This rule is based on the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) and Constitutional Court Decision No. 21/PUU-XII/2014 Year 2014.
Additionally, he explained that alleged criminals must be immediately taken to the nearest investigative office for questioning, and their case files must then be submitted to the prosecutor's office for trial.
"But the fact is, there are 37 cases where 22 victims died before being taken to court because they were fatally shot by the officers," Andrie said.
According to KontraS' records, one of the frequently used reasons by the police to justify arbitrary shootings is that the accused were resisting arrest. Andrie deemed this reason inappropriate, stating that the police must still adhere to their own internal regulations, such as Police Regulations (Perpol) and the Chief of Police Regulations (Perkap), which also govern the use of firearms.
Andrie mentioned that shooting someone on-site is considered an extrajudicial killing. "It is illegal to shoot a citizen, even one accused of committing a crime," he said.
KontraS' policy paper was released ahead of the Indonesian National Police's 79th Anniversary, which falls on July 1, 2025.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2023223/kontras-411-shootings-by-police-officers-recorded-over-the-past-yea