Following the proclamation of independence, the police played a vital role when they actively supported the people's movement toa dismantle the Japanese army, and to strengthen the defence of the newly created Republic of Indonesia.

On 21 June 1962, the National Police was integrated under the Armed Forces (ABRI) and changed its name to Angkatan Kepolisian (Police Force), and its commander maintained the concurrent status of Minister of Defense and Security, reporting to the President, who is commander in chief.

[19] In April 2009, angry that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had tapped his phone while investigating a corruption case, Indonesian Police chief detective Susno Duadji compared the KPK to a gecko (cicak) fighting a crocodile (buaya) meaning the police.

Susno's comment, as it turned out, quickly backfired because the image of a cicak standing up to a buaya (similar to David and Goliath imagery) immediately had wide appeal in Indonesia.

[20] In June 2010, the Indonesian news magazine Tempo published a report on "fat bank accounts" held by senior police officers containing billions of rupiah.

When the magazine went on sale in the evening groups of men said by witnesses to be police officers, went to newsstands with piles of cash to try to buy all the copies before they could be sold.

[25] According to the organization, "Police in Indonesia shoot, beat and even kill people without fear of prosecution, leaving their victims with little hope of justice".

[26] In 2014 the Human Rights Watch reported that a physical virginity test is routinely performed on female applicants to the police force.

[27][28] An official admission of violence by police officers came in 2016 when Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti admitted that officers of the Detachment 88 anti-terror unit were responsible for the death in custody of terrorist suspect Siyono, who died of heart failure after being kicked hard enough in the chest to fracture his ribs.

The Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights stated in March 2016 that at least 121 terror suspects had died in custody since 2007[29] Amnesty International called in June 2019 for an investigation of "credible evidence" of a range of grave violations by police, who it alleged were responsible for 10 unlawful killings in the aftermath of the re-election of president Joko Widodo.

[30] In July 2020, the Indonesian Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) issued a report detailing police brutality over the preceding year that resulted in 304 deaths and 1,627 injuries in 921 violent incidents.

The report also mentioned arbitrary arrests of people demonstrating legally, and acts of discrimination towards ethnic Papuans.

[35] Ferdy Sambo was sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment), with Amnesty Indonesia stating "the case should serve as a reminder to the police that it needed to make serious improvements in its internal operations and that this was not the first time that a police officer had been involved in an extrajudicial killing".

[39] The National Commission on Human Rights in Indonesia (KOMNAS HAM) investigated the use of tear gas by police, and found that the Indonesian National Police were one of 6 parties responsible for the tragedy due to excessive use of tear gas inside the stadium.

[43] The standard issue sidearm to all Indonesian National Police officers is the Taurus Model 82 revolver in .38 Special.

While police personnel attached to special units such as Detachment 88, Gegana and BRIMOB are issued with the Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol.

Police vehicles coloured orange usually Ford Focus and Mitsubishi Lancer sedans and white-orange Chevrolet Captiva are operated by the Vital Object Protection unit ("Pam Obvit") and usually parked outside and operated for international embassies, airports, and other special specified locations.

Other customised vehicles used for mobilisation of police personnel are usually modified Suzuki Mega Carry, Isuzu Elf and Toyota Dyna with horizontal side sitting facilities inside of the trunk covered by dark colored canvas for canopy.

For high-ranking officers (usually generals), issued cars are usually grey (some black) full to compact sedans and Mid to Full-sized SUVs.

Officer with command held wears his/her DUI (Lencana Tanda Jabatan) on the right pocket of the dress or service uniform and usually carries baton (called tongkat komando) while others don't.