Get to know the Salemba Prison, from the Colonial Era to the Present

Salemba Rutan. (Jakarta Kemenkumham.go.id)

YOGYAKARTA - The Salemba prison has a special role in law enforcement in Indonesia. The name of the Salemba Detention Center itself is quite well known by the public, especially those related to law violations. Even though its existence is acknowledged, not many people really know about the Salemba Detention Center.

Get to know the Salemba Prison

The Salemba Detention Center is the designation for the Class 1 State Detention Center in Central Jakarta which is located at Jalan Percetakan Negara Number 88, Rawasari Village, Cempaka Putih District, Central Jakarta Municipality, DKI Jakarta Province.

The name Salemba itself comes from the name of the strategic area between Jl. Kramat Raya and Jl. Matraman Raya, Monday District, Central Jakarta. In this area, there are several places whose names begin with Salemba. In the same area, the Salemba Detention Center is located.

The Salemba Detention Center is a detention centre owned by the Directorate General of Corrections, Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia. This detention centre was built on a land area of 42,132 m2. This detention centre has a residential capacity of approximately 1,450 people.

The history of the Salemba Detention Center began in 1918. At that time the detention centre was built by the Dutch Government and was better known by the people at that time as the Gang Tengah Prison. This prison is used to detain convicts who violate criminal and civil laws. After Indonesia's independence, ownership of the detention centre was then owned by the Government of Indonesia.

After the Republic of Indonesia's independence, the Salemba Detention Center began to be used to detain people involved in crimes. Even the prisoners who were imprisoned in Salemba were labelled as having links with G30S, from around 1967 to 1980. Then on 22 April 1981, the Salemba Detention Center was used to hold female convicts who had previously been detained at the Bukit Duri Penitentiary.

Quoted from the official website of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Salemba Detention Center has the status of a State Detention House along with 274 other Correctional Institutions in Indonesia. This was based on the decision of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Indonesia Number M.04.UM.01.06 of 1983 dated December 16, 1983, concerning the Designation of Certain Correctional Institutions as State Detention Houses.

The Salemba Detention Center is getting more crowded because it has begun to be used to detain male prisoners sent from the DKI Jakarta High Court, Central Jakarta District Attorney, West District Attorney, and North Jakarta District Attorney. Because of this, the female detainees who were initially still detained at the detention centre were moved to the Pondok Bambu East Jakarta Class IIIa State Detention Center.

Currently, the categories of detainees who can be detained at the Central Jakarta Detention Center are criminals arrested in 3 (three) areas namely Central Jakarta, West Jakarta and North Jakarta and perpetrators who come from Metro Jaya Police arrest.

As part of law enforcement instruments, there are three functions of the Salemba Detention Center, namely as follows.

1. Perform prison service
2. Perform maintenance of security and prison order
3. Manage prisons
4. Do business administration

The Central Jakarta Class I State Detention House consists of Building I and Building II, each of which has a different designation.

Building I of the Salemba Detention Center functions as a Task Room which is filled in for the interests of the Head of the Detention Center, Head of the Management Section, Head of the Finance & Equipment Sub-Section, Routine Treasurer, Head of the General Sub-Section, Registration Room, Receptionist.

Meanwhile, Building II is designated as a workspace for the Head of the Security Unit, Guard Room, Head of the Detention Service Section, Head of the Administration & Treatment Sub-Section, Head of the BHPT Sub-Section, Head of the Work Guidance Sub-Section, Polyclinic, Kitchen, Gene Set/Hydrant. Apart from that, it is also equipped with Religious Building Facilities consisting of Mosques, Churches, and Monasteries.

Apart from getting to know the Salemba Detention Center, you can visit VOI.ID to get other interesting information.