A hi-tech display of humanoid robots and robotic dogs by Indonesian police has drawn criticism for their desire to project a tech-savvy image and not focusing on tackling broader problems, ranging from a “culture of impunity” to reform inertia. At the national police’s 79th anniversary parade on July 1 in Jakarta, the force unveiled 25 new machines – including RoboCop-style robots, robot tanks and robodogs – in the presence of Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto. Their spokesman, Inspector General Sandi Nugroho, said the move reflected the force’s commitment to keep up with global policing trends. “The police are an institution that adapts to change,” Sandi said in a June 30 statement. “By 2030, police in several countries will [use] robots. We are also learning from other countries.” These robots, which have to be controlled remotely, will be used for search and rescue efforts in disaster zones or a fire, defusing explosives, hostage situations, collecting forensic evidence, such as fingerprints and DNA samples, monitoring traffic violations, and others. The robodogs can also assist the K9 police teams in detecting illicit materials and substances. The robots were made by China’s Unitree Robotics and Deep Robotics, with prices ranging between US$2,700 and US$16,000. Indonesia is not the only country to have deployed such robots for policing duties. In Thailand, an artificial intelligence-enabled police cyborg was used in April to monitor the Songkran festival. Last month, police in Chengdu tasked four-legged, wheeled, and humanoid robots to patrol the busy Tianfu Square, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency. Besides deploying robots, the Indonesian police have also unveiled a YouTube-like platform called PoliceTube to broadcast police-related videos. “No matter how bad [the police] are, it cannot be covered up [in the digital age]. However, the police’s good deeds should not be covered up either,” Sandi told reporters during the launch of the platform last month. With the platform, the public could “monitor in real time” the police’s work across Indonesia, Sandi said. Institutional reform needed The police’s display of robots and video platform, however, has drawn mixed views among online users, rights groups and analysts. “The robots become a controversial issue since the public needs police services and protection more than the use of such technology. The benefits of humanoid robots and K9-robots are not yet known, and they are expensive,” said Bambang Rukminto, an observer of the Indonesian national police with the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies. A user said on the X social media platform: “Can [the robots] be used to identify perpetrators of bribery, extortion, or violence involving officers? Or to identify the profiles of officers who belittle or reject citizens’ reports?” Another X user, however, has welcomed the use of robots, saying that they are “more effective and efficient” than human police. Corruption watchdog Transparency International Indonesia (TII) has questioned the urgency of their purchase given Jakarta’s budget cuts. “This large-scale procurement has the potential to violate the provisions for procurement of goods and services, because not much information is displayed about the general plan for robot procurement for the last three years,” TII said on X. Addressing the controversy, the national police chief, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, said on Sunday that the force did not spend a cent to display the robots during the parade as the robots were still undergoing experimentation. During a parliamentary hearing on Monday, the police requested an additional 63.7 trillion rupiah (US$3.9 billion) for next year’s budget – no indication was given for projected spending on robots. The Civil Society Coalition for Police Reform said on July 1 that the robots and the video platform “do not address the root of the institutional problems of the Indonesian police, which require substantial and systematic reform, both culturally, instrumentally and structurally”. The police’s internal affairs division is constrained by “esprit de corps and the ‘blue code of silence’ subculture within the institution”, which has resulted in persistent “abuse of power and a culture of impunity within the police force”, according to the coalition. There were 3,197 reported cases of police violence from 2020 to July 1, ranging from arbitrary arrests, shootings and use of tear gas to disperse peaceful protests to extrajudicial killings, according to rights groups Kontras. About 41 per cent of 1,000 respondents in Indonesia gave bribes for the first time while dealing with the police, TII said in a report on global corruption released in 2020. Bambang said the police should reveal the budget for PoliceTube and the strategy for its maintenance. Ultimately, the mindset of the police has to change if they are to succeed in reforming themselves, according to Bambang. “They’ve always acted as if they were elitist. As long as the police feel they’re not part of society, they can’t sense the pulse of problems within it. This is reflected in the performance of their personnel,” he said.