Transforming the Indonesian National Police Assessment Centre into a Competency Information System for Merit-based Career Development

The Indonesian National Police (INP) has developed a relatively strong regulatory and institutional foundation for competency assessment through its Assessment Centre. Formally, competency assessment has been positioned as an instrument for mapping, selection, promotion, transfer, special assignment, and career development. This framework is supported by competency dictionaries, competency profiles, behavioural guidelines, assessor functional-position arrangements, and expanding institutional capacity, including assessor development, internal assessment activities, and external cooperation through non-tax state revenue mechanisms. However, regulatory strength and institutional capacity do not automatically ensure strategic utilisation. This article argues that the main challenge facing the INP Assessment Centre is a strategic utilisation gap, namely the gap between the organisation’s ability to conduct assessment activities and its ability to convert assessment results into measurable career-development outcomes. Using a policy, literature, and institutional data review, this article integrates assessment centre literature, competency-based career development, merit-based human resource governance, and INP regulatory documents to develop a conceptual strengthening model. The analysis shows that assessment centres risk becoming episodic assessment events when their outputs stop at scores, rankings, or administrative recommendations. To address this gap, the article proposes transforming the INP Assessment Centre into a competency information system through four strengthening pillars: competency architecture, multi-method assessment quality, governance–transparency–integrity, and career development integration. The proposed model links assessment inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes by connecting competency profiles, competency-gap diagnosis, structured feedback, individual development plans, talent pools, promotion, transfer, development education, and succession planning. This article contributes to assessment centre scholarship and police human resource governance by repositioning assessment centres as strategic infrastructure for merit-based, evidence-informed, and competency-based career development.