THE URGENCY OF DIVERSION FOR CHILD OFFENDERS

Abstract

This research is motivated by the increasing involvement of children in motor vehicle theft (curanmor) in the Cirebon Regency area, which requires special handling outside the formal criminal justice system. Children as perpetrators of criminal acts are often victims of their social environment, so imprisonment is not considered an effective solution. The problem formulations in this study are: (1) Why is diversion possible in child criminal cases? and (2) How is the law applied to perpetrators of motor vehicle theft committed by children? The objectives of this research are to understand the basic considerations for the possibility of diversion for children who commit criminal acts and to understand the application of diversion for children who commit criminal acts. The research method used is normative juridical with a statute approach and conceptual approach. Data is sourced from primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials analyzed qualitatively. Problems found in the field indicate obstacles in synchronization between the formal requirements of the law and compensation demands from victims that often hinder the peace process. The discussion results show that diversion has a very high urgency as an instrument to prevent children from the negative impacts of stigmatization (labeling) and the criminogenic effects of prison. In Cirebon Regency, the basic considerations for implementing diversion include fulfilling the requirements of Article 7 of the Child Criminal Justice System Law (criminal threats below 7 years and not recidivists), results of Community Research (Litmas) from Bapas, and the existence of a peace agreement between perpetrators and victims facilitated by community leaders. The use of police discretion based on the ultimum remedium principle becomes the main key so that child motor vehicle theft cases can be diverted to deliberation channels to ensure the growth and development of children as national assets.