Depok – A total of 644 students from the Indonesian Correctional Polytechnic (Politeknik Pengayoman Indonesia/Poltekpin) under the Ministry of Law officially graduated this year. Vice Minister of Law, Eddy Hiariej, described the graduation as a pivotal moment, as it comes less than a month before Indonesia begins enforcing its new criminal law framework under the National Criminal Code (KUHP).
“You are graduating at exactly the right time. In less than a month, Indonesia will implement a new criminal law instrument that brings about a fundamental shift in legal paradigms,” Eddy said during his keynote address at the Open Senate Graduation Ceremony for the 2025 Diploma IV Program at the Ministry’s Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDM) on Thursday (December 11, 2025).
Addressing graduates from the Immigration Studies program, Eddy explained that as civil servants they will be expected to carry out at least three key roles: serving as facilitators of legal development, acting as supporting investigators, and functioning as secondary investigators. These roles, he emphasized, must be carried out in close coordination with the National Police.
“You must coordinate with the Police as the primary investigators. This is not about expanding authority or turning the Police into a superpower, but about positioning law enforcement roles in a professional and proportional manner,” he explained.
Eddy also reminded immigration officers that supervising foreign nationals will remain challenging, given Indonesia’s vast coastline and limited personnel.
“Aerial monitoring may be relatively straightforward, but maritime supervision is far more complex. Indonesia has the second-longest coastline in the world, after Canada,” he noted.
For graduates of the Correctional Science program, Eddy highlighted that the new National Criminal Code formally recognizes community correction officers as law enforcement officials.
“The law is implemented based on the principle of functional differentiation, where investigation rests with the Police, prosecution with the Prosecutor’s Office, adjudication with the courts, advocates play a balancing role, and community correction officers are responsible for guiding convicted persons and inmates,” he said.
Eddy further noted that the government has prepared supporting regulations, including a government regulation on sentence commutation, as a derivative of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code, which will fully take effect on 2 January 2026.
“This provision is intended to address prison overcrowding. However, it does not mean your responsibilities will diminish. Instead, your duties will shift from prisons to correctional centers,” he explained.
Earlier, Head of Human Resources Development Agency, Gusti Ayu Putu Suwardani, reported that the 644 graduates consist of 350 students from the Correctional Science program and 294 from the Immigration Studies program.
She explained that to develop civil servants who are competitive and future-ready, Poltekpin implements an integrated education model aligned with the university’s Tri Dharma—education, training, and character development.
“Education focuses on providing foundational and universal knowledge that supports each professional field,” Ayu said.
“Training equips students with practical and professional skills, while also fostering physical fitness, discipline, and resilience,” she added.
Character development, she concluded, plays a vital role in shaping leadership qualities through the cultivation of discipline, values, norms, and ethics.
“The emphasis is on building a strong sense of integrity, broad perspective, and a commitment to serving and protecting the community,” she said.
