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Jakarta Post

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.

Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, January 15, 2022 Published on Jan. 14, 2022 Published on 2022-01-14T20:08:41+07:00

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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).

Rights activists decried the uniform change, alleging it was a tactic to extend the reach of the police to civilians, which they said could lead to abuses of power.

Read also: Fears of repression as police move to repurpose civil security apparatus

But now the police have decided to change the outfits again because they too closely resemble the uniforms that rank-and-file police officers wear.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmad Ramadhan said that the uniform change was still under deliberation and that only the shirt would be changed from the current color to a lighter shade of brown.

He said that the new uniforms would be introduced on Jan. 31, probably through a police regulation, to coincide with the anniversary of the establishment of private security guards. The uniform change requirement itself will come into effect a year after the regulation is issued.

“The reason for this change is because the current uniform too closely resembles the ones officers wear, causing trouble and confusion among civilians,” the senior police officer said at a press conference on Thursday.

This was exactly what Ahmad the security guard said he felt when wearing the current uniform – he had received various comments that ran the gamut from positive to negative.

“Small children sometimes mistake me for a police officer,” he said.

With the impending uniform change, Ahmad said he would most likely have to shell out around Rp 400,000 (US$28) to get himself a new set, either out of pocket or cut directly from his paycheck. Even so, he does not mind.

“Working also means we have to follow the rules,” he said.

Muhammad Nurodin, 31, a security guard at an office tower in Central Jakarta, welcomed the uniform change. Standing guard near Jl. Sudirman resulted in motorists often mistaking him for a policeman.

“When I first wore this [brown] uniform and was stationed right on the street, motorists – especially ojek [motorcycle taxi] drivers – were often taken aback,” Nurodin said on Friday.

After working for a year as a security guard, his employers made him switch to the current uniform in January last year, although it was provided by them for free.

The former junior high school teacher from Sumedang, West Java, insisted that security guards and police officers should have different outfits. “Otherwise it could be abused by some people,” he told the Post.

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