Implementation of investigation by the Indonesian national police in eradicating corruption crime
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-12-2018-0075 |
| Pages | 136-154 |
| Published date | 21 January 2020 |
| Date | 21 January 2020 |
| Author | Armunanto Hutahaean,Erlyn Indarti |
| Subject Matter | Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime,Accounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure |
Implementation of investigation
by the Indonesian national police
in eradicating corruption crime
Armunanto Hutahaean and Erlyn Indarti
Department of Law, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aimsto study the IntegratedCriminal Justice System; the law enforcement carriedout
by the Indonesian National Police is expected to be able to realize legal values, namely, legal justice,
expediencyand certainty.
Design/methodology/approach –This research can broadly be grouped into the realm of the socio-
legal research approach. The domain of law enforcement in corruption cases is related to the preliminary
investigation and full investigation process. The research location chosen is at Indonesian National Police
Headquarter (Mabes Polri) and Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police. The main data sources are
stakeholders who are related and have the authority as preliminary phase investigators and full phase
investigators. The next informants are determined by snowball technique, which consists of several
informants as follows: Directorof Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of GreaterJakarta Metropolitan
Regional Police, head of Corruption Crime Sub-Directorate of Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police,
investigators of Corruption Crime Sub-Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of Greater
Jakarta MetropolitanRegional Police, members of Commission IIIof the Indonesian House of Representatives
(DPR), constitutional law experts and police experts. The data in this research are obtained through
observationactivities, visual interviews, document interpretation(text) and material and personal experience.
Findings –The corruption cases handled by theIndonesian National Police have mostly come from information
reports from the public. Based on the information report from the community, the preliminary investigation phase is
carried out by the preliminary phase investigator of the Indonesian National Police in the field. In addition, a
preliminary investigation and full investigation is carried out due to the results of an audit from the BPK or BPKP.
Preliminary investigation and full investigation begin after it is alleged that a criminal act of corruption had
occurred based on the report, complaints and informationreceivedbythepreliminaryphaseinvestigatororfull
phase investigator from the community. In conducting the preliminary investigation and full investigation of
corruption cases, based on the results of the research conducted, it is also found that the Indonesian National Police’s
preliminary phase investigator and full phase investigator experience several obstacles, besides supporting factors
that support the success of a preliminary investigation and fullinvestigation.
Originality/value –This research is a case study in which no previous studies have used the same method in
Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police (Polda Metro Jaya). This paper is the result of the researcher’s
research on what is described above, guided by the constructivism paradigm, the researcher applies the
paradigmatic analysis to understand how the preliminary investigation and full investigation on corruption
crimes by Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police act as part of an integrated criminal justice system.
Through the paradigmatic analysis, the researcher then reveals how while upholding the law, the Indonesian
National Police actually sought to realize legal justice, expediency and certainty.
Keywords Law enforcement, Corruption crime, Full investigation phase, Indonesian national police,
Preliminary investigation phase, Legal values
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The function of the police as stipulated in Article 2 of Law No. 2 Year 2002 concerning the
Indonesian National Policeis to carry out one of the functions of the state government in the
JMLC
23,1
136
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.23 No. 1, 2020
pp. 136-154
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-12-2018-0075
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1368-5201.htm
task of law enforcement in addition to communityprotection, safeguard and service. This is
confirmed in Article 14 paragraph (1) letter g of Law No. 2 Year 2002 concerning the
Indonesian National Police, which states that the Police are authorized to conduct full
investigation phase on crimes that have been preceded by preliminary investigation phase
conducted by preliminary phaseinvestigators (Rahardi, 2007). The criminal acts in question
are violations and crimes based on laws and regulations regulated in the Criminal Code
(KUHP) and those that are spread outside the criminalcode, including corruption crime.
The Police must understand the legal principles that are used as material for
considerationin carrying out their functionslike law enforcement officers as follows:
the principle of legality: the police as law enforcers must comply with the law in
carrying out their duties;
the principle of obligation: the police have an obligation to deal with problems in
society that are discretionary in nature because they have not been regulated in law;
the principle of participation: the police coordinate the Swakarsa (voluntary army)
security to realize legal compliance among the community to secure the community
environment;
the principle of preventive: the police always prioritize preventive actions rather
than repressive actions to the public; and
the principle of subsidiarity: the police carry out the duties of other agencies so as
not to cause greater problems before being handled by the agency in charge
(Rahardi, 2007).
The enforcement of criminal law must involve the police. Law needs to be implemented in
the form of law enforcement when someone does not voluntarily obey it. Through strict
action taken by the police, someone will want to obey the law. The police are the organ of
power for the operation of the law. Without the power of the police, the law is only sweet
words in the Article of the law, the law requires power. According to Mochtar
Kusumaatmaja, without legal power, law is merely a wishful thinking. However, power
without law is tyranny. Therefore, the power exhibited by the police in enforcing the law
must be returned to the law itself. In implementing the law in force for the community, the
police must still rely on the law. The law contained in the law/act is only a death sentence,
which will not live without the role of the police. It can be said that the police are the living
law, according to Eugen Erlich(Rahardi, 2007).
In a law enforcement process, including the problem of corruption cases, in addition to
the necessity in legislation instruments, the driving instruments are also needed.
The driving instruments are law enforcementinstitutions and are implemented through the
working mechanism of a system, namely, the criminal justice system. As a system, the
working mechanism of the criminal justice system includes instruments or sub-systems,
namely, (Chaerudinet al., 2008):
the sub-system of Police who perform the task of preliminary investigation and full
investigation (Article 2 of Law No. 2, 2002);
the sub-system of Prosecution, which is in charge of prosecution work;
the sub-system of Court, which is in charge of examining the case at the legal
hearing and convicting the verdict; and
the sub-system of Correctional Institution as the institution in charge of developing
a citizen to be a good member of society and not to repeat their actions in the future.
Eradicating
corruption
crime
137
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