Overcriminalization (crisis of overreach of criminal law) as a situation where too many acts are defined as criminal acts (criminalization) is also another problem in the Criminal Justice System. Accuracy of lawmakers in criminalizing becomes a central problem so as not to decrease the psychological coercion of criminal law and its authority so that it becomes ineffective in overcoming crimes.

Meanwhile, the theory of punishment has developed starting from the purpose of punishment which is retributive in which the imposition of the crime is seen as suffering / sorrow that must be given to the perpetrator of the crime (backward looking), shifting to the purpose of punishment which has a deterrent effect, and currently starting to shift towards the goal of punishment which is rehabilitative in nature. The purpose of this punishment is important to formulate explicitly in law so as not to cause doubts and differences in the application of the law as an implication of the different perceptions of each law enforcer and of course so that the objectives of the Criminal Justice System can be achieved.

Another problem that also arises is the disparity of crime, namely the application of different crimes against the perpetrators of the same crime, the perpetrators of different crimes but the light weight of the penalties can be compared or against the perpetrators of the criminal acts. This situation is also a factor that can reduce the respect for both the perpetrator and the public for the court as part of the … Read More

Recently, the public has been busy discussing the light charges of the Public Prosecutor in the Novel Baswedan Case on the grounds that the Defendants “accidentally” injured the victim’s eye. This demand then sparked a lot of discussion in public spaces that questioned various irregularities in the case. Earlier, we also heard about the brutal actions of a Minneapolis Police officer against George Floyd, a black man who was accused of buying cigarettes with a fake $ 20 note that resulted in death. This case sparked anger among global citizens and a wave of anti-racism protests emerged in various countries such as the United States, New Zealand and Australia.
The unprofessionalism of law enforcement officers in the two cases above is only one of the many problems that arise in the Criminal Justice System. Various other problems that are no less complicated are overcriminalization and the decline in the authority of the criminal law, unclear purposes of punishment, disparity of crime, lack of attention to crime victims, social stigma and prisonization.
This brief discussion tries to look at the various problems that arise in the Criminal Justice System in general which are one of the factors causing the emergence of crimes

The Criminal Justice System as a Criminogenous Factor

The Criminal Justice System as part of criminal politics or crime prevention policies using criminal law in principle aims to control the occurrence of crimes so that they remain within acceptable tolerance limits. The four main components in the Criminal Justice … Read More