UNJ Sociologist: State Plays Role in Creating Organized Thuggery

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Police (Polri) is currently conducting a massive operation to eradicate thuggery. The operation includes arresting perpetrators, rehabilitation, and investigation of cases. According to a sociologist, the eradication of thuggery requires a larger solution: political will from the national leadership.

Asep Suryana, a sociologist from the State University of Jakarta (UNJ), stated that state authorities have a role in creating organized thuggery, manifested through thuggery actions carried out under the guise of social organizations (ormas). Therefore, its eradication also requires the involvement of the state. "There must be political will from the national leadership," Asep said over the phone on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

From a political standpoint, he said, maintaining organized thuggery is efficient for state authorities. Asep observed that such maintenance is beneficial for those in power.

He also emphasized that in combating thuggery, law enforcement agencies also need to provide legal certainty at the grassroots level. He stated that law enforcement agencies should not allow the existence of illegal security services. For example, the police should ensure the security of local businesses, instead of security groups acting under the guise of social organizations.

"The space should be narrowed. The space is currently wide. It should even be abolished if possible," said Asep.

Adrianus Meliala, a criminology expert from the University of Indonesia (UI), believes that thuggery has taken root in Indonesian culture. The anthropologist Koentjaraningrat described thuggery as "a culture of cutting corners" or "taking shortcuts".

Subsequently, this culture becomes a commodity when certain segments of society use the services of thugs, providing them with "work".

"When transforming into social organizations, thugs become organized thuggery," said Adrianus. "Members of the social organizations already feel that guarding land, protecting entrepreneurs, or even being involved in crime is their job. So there's some kind of legitimacy."

The anti-thuggery operation by the Indonesian National Police has been ongoing from May 9 to May 23, 2025. In Jakarta alone, as of May 16, 2025, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police claimed to have arrested 1,197 people suspected of involvement in thuggery. Of this number, 125 people have entered the investigation stage, while the rest will undergo rehabilitation and monitoring. Among all, extortion is the most common criminal offense with 626 cases.

The Head of Public Relations of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Kombes Ade Ary Syam Indradi, stated that they and other police forces have also removed the attributes of social organizations in various areas of Jakarta. "I don't need to mention the name of the organization, because these are individuals," said Ade.

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