Head Of BNN Petrus Reinhard: Perpetrators Who Abuse Narcotics More Than Twice Should Be Punished

Head of the National Narcotics Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BNN RI) Petrus Reinhard Golose/ Antara

JAKARTA - The Head of the National Narcotics Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BNN RI) Petrus Reinhard Golose emphasized that the perpetrators who abused narcotics repeatedly, namely more than twice, must still be prosecuted to undergo the criminal legal process.

"If we revise the Narcotics Law (UU) our spirit is to rehabilitate narcotics abusers, that's only a maximum of 2 times. If he does it repeatedly, he must still be punished," Golose told reporters in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, April 6.

Golose emphasized that narcotics users are still perpetrators, even though drug abuse is a victimless crime, or a crime where the victim is yourself.

Golose considered it necessary for the perpetrator to undergo a legal process when the perpetrator used narcotics repeatedly even though he had gone through 2 rehabilitation sessions.

The statement is related to the revision of the Narcotics Law. Since the Tangerang Class I Correctional Institution (Lapas) Fire on September 8, 2021, which claimed more than 40 lives, the Narcotics Law has been in the public spotlight as a cause of overcapacity in prisons.

Experts and observers assess that the excess capacity of prisons is the cause of the ineffective evacuation of prisoners in prison when a fire occurs.

On the other hand, based on data from the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), more than 60 percent of prison residents are from narcotics crimes.

Therefore, the revision of the Narcotics Law is one of the agendas that is often discussed, both among observers, academics, activists, researchers, to the government.

The revision aims to replace prison confinement into providing rehabilitation for narcotics abusers who are not dealers. Related to this, Golose emphasized that the legislators must arrange so that the revision of the Narcotics Law does not become a new modus operandi.

“This must be regulated so as not to become the modus operandi of the claim 'I am a user, I need to be rehabilitated'. If the user is repeated, we must punish it," said Golose asserted.