Firli is taking over the reins at the KPK in December and will remain an active police officer until he reaches the retirement age of 58 in two years.

Several police generals, both active and retired, lead a number of state agencies, including the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) and the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry.

Police generals have also been appointed directors general at several ministries: Former Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. (ret.) Ronny Sompie is the director general of immigration at the Law and Human Rights Ministry, while former South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. (ret.) Pudji Hartanto Iskandar is the land transportation director general at the Transportation Ministry.

The National Police budget has also increased significantly over the past few years, more than doubling from Rp 43.9 trillion (US$3.1 billion) in 2014 to Rp 104.7 trillion in the 2020 state budget.

While its defenders say there is nothing wrong with the current situation since it is allowed by law, activists and researchers say that it is a setback to democracy, given the potential for conflicts of interest.

National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said there was nothing wrong with appointing police officers to top positions at state agencies and ministries.

"It is in line with the ASN [state civil service] Law and government regulations," Dedi told The Jakarta Post recently. "Those who have retired should not be counted as police officers, because they no longer have anything to do the with the [police force]," he added.

Poengky Indarti of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) shared Dedi's view, adding that the officers' professionalism in filling the positions was the important thing.

"It is not a problem for police to have duties outside of the organization, as long as it is aligns with their duties to serve, protect and direct the public in enforcing the law," she told the Post.

Murdoch University lecturer Jacqui Baker, who has studied the role of the National Police in Indonesia's democratization, said that while the police had always been involved in national politics, the scope of their role seemed to have expanded under the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

"Because of their role in policing the elections and the contestation surrounding it, politicians have always sought to curry favor with the police," Baker told the Post.

She added that the increased presence of police officers in government and politics was the result of a 20-year system that had now pivoted to the police. "We are now seeing the effects of the National Police being directly under the president," she said.

Baker said that appointing police officers to head state institutions unrelated to the police force had caused several negative effects because of the mindset that officers and former officers might bring to their nonpolicing roles.

"Generally, police officers tend to be more conservative and have a security approach at the forefront of their decision-making, ahead of other considerations," said Baker. "Having a police officer heading the BNN, for example, turns drugs, which should be a public health issue, into a 'war'."

Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) chairwoman Asfinawati said that putting policemen in charge of non-police institutions was inappropriate.

"The police receive very specific training and have intrinsically repressive powers like arresting people, for example. That's fine within the context of policing, but is not appropriate for other institutions," she told the Post, adding that policemen who headed certain organizations faced the possibility of conflicting interests.

"The KPK is tasked with investigating graft committed by state officials, including law enforcement officials," Asfinawati said. "Appointing a law enforcement official as its head clearly generates conflict."

On the other hand, Al Araf, the executive director of human rights watchdog Imparsial, said that policemen heading agencies like the BNN and the BNPT made sense, because these agencies still "correlated with police duties".

"But putting police officers in charge of Bulog or land transportation seems excessive," he said.

Al Araf added that the National Police should undertake both cultural and structural reforms to improve accountability.

"Because the National Police used to be part of ABRI [Indonesian Armed Forces], they still have a militaristic culture that could lead to the use of excessive force," he said, referring to the pre-Reform Era name of the Indonesian Military (TNI). "This should be addressed in educational programs that stress the importance of human rights."

As for structural reform, he said he was in favor of strengthening the Kompolnas and increasing its independence.

The police commission is headed by the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister, a position that is currently held by retired general Wiranto, who was ABRI commander in 1998-1999.

Baker, however, said that placing the National Police under a ministry would be beneficial.

She added that while being directly responsible to the President could make the police more accountable in theory, it had instead given them a "hallowed" position in practice , especially since the TNI was under the Defense Ministry.

"It makes them feel untouchable, certainly [among] themselves," Baker said. "Placing them under a ministry and held accountable to a civilian minister would lessen that."

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