“Role of the Informal Justice System in Resolving Indonesia’s Crime Problem.”

Source: (1997) Caribbean Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology. 2(1):13-29.

Crime prevention in Indonesia is a function of criminal justice agencies and other government and community security institutions. All crime prevention efforts are arranged according to a self-supporting system of public security and order and are actualized through the idea of area security systems that consist of work, school, and residential areas. Law enforcement is basically only conducted by criminal justice agencies. In reality, however, crime resolution is also affected using unofficial means to resolve conflict, particularly for misdemeanors. The essence of Indonesia’s informal system involves unofficial crime clearance, a practice conducted by both the police and the community. The relatively small number of total crimes and low crime rates in police statistics indicate many misdemeanors have been cleared in unofficial ways. The Indonesian culture appears to be conducive to the unofficial approach to crime clearance, particularly with respect to religious values. Additional research is recommended to study the correlation between crime rates and traditional means of social control, religious life, and the effectiveness of unofficial crime clearance in reducing recidivism.