TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
No more confusion: Security guards welcome planned uniform change
The National Police plan to change the uniform of private security guards (Satpam) to differentiate them from their law enforcement counterparts.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A security guard, dressed in the old navy blue outfit, stands at the gate of a housing complex located in Palmerah, West Jakarta, in July 2016. After asking security guards to change their uniforms to resemble those of police officers, the National Police are planning to change them once again so they will not look too similar. (The Jakarta Post/Ivany Atina Arbi)
P
rivate security guards (Satpam) seem to have few qualms about changing their uniforms once again, as the police believe their getup is too similar and are looking to make some alterations.
But while the planned changes will help differentiate security staff from law enforcers, it will also mean that many will have to reach into their own pockets again to buy the new outfits.
Ahmad Dimyati, 23, a security guard who has been working at the Blok M Square shopping mall in South Jakarta for two years, said that he actually preferred the older uniforms – navy blue for the night guard and white shirts with black pants for those on duty in the daytime.
He had been wearing a brown uniform with rank badges for about four months, he said, after the company he works for made it mandatory for all security personnel.
“I didn’t have to tuck in the shirt with the old uniform, so it was a bit more flexible to move around in. The current uniform has a brass buckle belt, badges and other accessories – just like the police,” Ahmad told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The National Police first introduced the brown uniforms for civilian guards in September 2020 in an effort to symbolize “closeness” and ignite a sense of pride in their profession as private security details.
It was part of a bigger police regulation recognizing Satpam and the neighborhood watch (Siskamling) as part of the private security apparatus (Pam Swakarsa).
