Police Apply RJ Case of Seven Children Stealing Drain Cover in Kudus
JAKARTA - The police have applied restorative justice (RJ) or restorative justice in the case of theft of iron covers of water or drainage channels in several areas of Kudus Regency, Central Java, with seven perpetrators under the age of 18.
"Because all the perpetrators are still minors, the police decided to resolve the case through the restorative justice mechanism by involving parents, schools, village governments, and bhabinkamtibmas," said Kudus Police Chief AKBP Heru Dwi Purnomo through the Kudus City Police Chief AKP Subkhan as reported by ANTARA, Friday, April 24.
The perpetrators and their parents, he said, were also gathered at the Wira Kresna Pratama Hall of the Kudus City Police to receive guidance and make a statement not to repeat their actions.
"We give them a chance because they are still children and have a future. But if they repeat it again, we will process it according to the law," he emphasized.
He appealed to the public to increase environmental awareness and immediately report if they know about criminal acts.
Parents are also asked to supervise their children's social interactions so that they do not fall into acts of breaking the law. In addition, residents are invited to jointly maintain public facilities for the safety of the community.
"Regarding the disclosure of the case, it started from a report from residents regarding the loss of the drainage cover on Jalan Gang Mbah Mayung, Panjunan Village, Kota Kudus District on Thursday (23/4) at around 11.10 WIB,"
Receiving the report, he said, the police immediately went to the scene and conducted an investigation by examining witnesses around the crime scene.
From the results of the investigation, officers found clues through surveillance camera footage or closed circuit television (CCTV) related to the actions of the perpetrators stealing iron covers of water channels around the location. In the video, three children are seen riding a motorcycle that is suspected of being involved in the theft.
The CCTV footage then circulated widely in the community, because in a number of other areas there were also similar cases.
Around 14.00 WIB, two of the three suspected perpetrators were successfully secured by Bhabinkamtibmas Sunggingan together with local residents. To avoid mass riots, the two were immediately taken to the village hall before being handed over to the Kudus City Police.
"From the two children who were secured, we developed it to lead to five other children. In total, there are seven children who we have secured," he said.
The seven perpetrators, each with the initials MJF (13), MBA (13), FAP (13), NH (14), BCS (15), MAN (13), and PA (14).
Based on the results of the examination, the seven children were suspected of stealing drainage covers in the Kota, Bae, and Jati sub-districts.
In addition, officers also secured two drainage covers that had been sold to scrap collectors in the Kudus City area at prices ranging from Rp. 9 thousand to Rp. 25 thousand for each iron cover. Meanwhile, the money from the sale of the iron was used for snacks and buying food.