Police Settle Case of Rice Theft in Purbalingga through Restorative Justice

PURBALINGGA - The Kemangkon Sector Police (Polsek) solved the case of theft of rice in Sumilir Village, Purbalingga Regency, Central Java, through the approach of restorative justice (restorative justice/RJ) after the victim and the perpetrator agreed to make peace in the mediation process.

"The restorative justice approach is carried out by prioritizing dialogue, mediation, and peaceful settlement involving perpetrators, victims, and village institutions as elements of society," said Kemangkon Police Chief Ajun Kompol Heri Iskandar, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, February 26.

According to him, the handling of the case was facilitated by the Kemangkon Police following a theft incident that occurred in Sumilir Village, Kemangkon District, Purbalingga, Thursday (26/2) early morning.

In this case, the perpetrator with the initials MS (39), a resident of Purwareja Klampok District, Banjarnegara Regency, was caught stealing two sacks of grain equivalent to 70 kilograms with a value of approximately Rp980 thousand in the courtyard of the An-Nur Mosque, Sumilir Village, around 02.00 WIB.

The victim on behalf of Sukedi (57) who knew about the incident immediately arrested the perpetrator and reported it to the Kemangkon Police.

The police chief said that during the mediation meeting, the perpetrator admitted his actions and promised not to repeat them.

In addition, the perpetrator was also willing to compensate the victim for the two sacks of grain that were stolen.

Meanwhile, the victim stated that he did not want the case to continue to the legal process and had forgiven the perpetrator.

"The peace agreement was then written in a joint statement signed by both parties and witnessed by the village apparatus and the police," he said.

He said that the settlement through the restorative justice approach was carried out by considering a number of things, including that the victim did not want to make an official report, the perpetrator had never been involved in a criminal act, and the motive for the theft was because the perpetrator had economic difficulties and had to pay debts every Tuesday.

"Hopefully, through the restorative justice approach, it can create justice for the victims and the perpetrators can be deterred and not repeat their actions," said AKP Heri.