Jakarta. National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo acknowledged that public trust in the police remained low in 2024, with a majority of netizens expressing negative sentiments throughout the year. He disclosed these findings during the National Police's Year-End Report on Tuesday.

“We evaluate the National Police’s performance through various methods, including analyzing and assessing public sentiment on social media,” Listyo told reporters.

According to Listyo, there were more than 7 million social media interactions discussing the police on platforms such as Twitter and TikTok in 2024.

“Of these interactions, 46 percent were negative,” he said, equivalent to over 3.3 million interactions. Meanwhile, 37 percent of the interactions, or around 2.57 million, were positive, while 18 percent, or approximately 1.25 million, were neutral.

Listyo attributed the significant amount of negative feedback to several high-profile cases involving police officers during the year, including the recent internal investigation into 18 officers accused of extorting Malaysian attendees at the Djakarta Warehouse Project (DWP) music festival. During this investigation, Indonesian police confiscated Rp 2.5 billion ($154,322) in cash.

Further controversy arose following a series of incidents involving police misuse of firearms. On Nov. 22, Dadang Iskandar, head of operations at the South Solok Police in West Sumatra, fatally shot his colleague, Ryanto Ulil Anshar, in the parking lot of the Police Station. Just days later, on Nov. 24, another fatal shooting took place in Semarang, Central Java, where 17-year-old student Gamma Rizkynata Oktafandy was allegedly killed by police officer Robig Zaenuddin. These incidents have raised questions among lawmakers about whether Indonesian police should continue carrying firearms.

Nevertheless, Listyo said that such criticism should not deter the police from improving their performance.

“Despite the criticism, this is not an excuse for the National Police to give up or stop making progress. On the contrary, these challenges serve as motivation for the institution to strengthen its integrity and enhance its professionalism in carrying out its duties. This is essential,” he concluded.

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