Do You Want to Report a Crime to the Police? These are the Procedures

PERTANYAAN

What is the correct procedure for reporting crimes that we see to the Indonesian National Police? Is the complaint service at the police station in Indonesia available for 24 hours? Including the 110 service, is it the same as the 911 in America which is available for 24 hours? Then, when we report a crime, will we be charged, or is it free of charge? Thank you.

INTISARI JAWABAN

If you wish to report a criminal act or crime, you may directly come to the nearest police station of the location where the crime occurred. For example, if you observe a criminal act in a sub-district, then you may report it to the nearest Sectoral Police (Kepolisian Sektor/ “POLSEK”) in which the crime occurred. However, you may also report to other higher administrative areas, such as Resort/Departmental Police (Polisi Resor/ “POLRES”), Regional Police (Kepolisian Daerah/ “POLDA”), or the Indonesian National Police (Kepolisian Republik Indonesia/ “POLRI”) headquarters.

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Mau Melaporkan Tindak Pidana ke Polisi? Begini Prosedurnya which was written by Nafiatul Munawaroh and was published on Wednesday, 21 December 2022.

This article below is the fourth update of the article entitled Procedure for Reporting Criminal Incidents to the Police Station (Prosedur Melaporkan Peristiwa Pidana ke Kantor Polisi) which was first written by Harry Kurniawan, S.H., and was first published on Wednesday, 17 October 2018, and was updated for the first time by Sovia Hasanah, S.H., on Wednesday, 26 September 2018, and was updated for the second time by Tri Jata Ayu Pramesti, S.H., on Tuesday, 10 March 2020, and was updated for the third time on Friday, 11 December 2020.

All legal informations which are available through Klinik hukumonline.com have been prepared for educational purposes only and are general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Are you aware of a crime and wish to report it to the police? In the following, we have summarized the procedure for reporting criminal incidents to the police station. Read the article to the end!

Police Report

Article 1 Number 24 Criminal Procedure Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana/ “KUHAP”) states that a report is a notification delivered by a person due to a right or obligation according to the law to an authorized official regarding the occurrence of a criminal event that happened, or happening at the moment, or might happen.

From the explanation above, the reported event might not be necessarily a criminal act, so it is necessary to conduct an initial investigation by the authorized official first to determine whether the act is a criminal act or not. We as people who see a crime have an obligation to report said action.

Therefore, who has the right to report crimes to the police? Any person who experiences, sees, witnesses, and/or becomes a victim of a criminal act has the right to submit a report or complaint to an initial investigator and/or investigator, either verbally or in writing.

How to Report Crimes to the Police

1. Go to the nearest police station from the location where the crime occurred. Previously, you should know the following jurisdictions and police administration areas:

1. Police jurisdiction includes:

1. Jurisdiction of Indonesian National Police (Kepolisian Republik Indonesia/ “POLRI”) headquarters or as known as MABES POLRI for the territory of the Republic of Indonesia;
2. Jurisdiction of Regional Police (Kepolisian Daerah/ “POLDA”) for provincial areas;
3. Jurisdiction of Resort/Departmental Police (Polisi Resor/ “POLRES”) for regencies/cities;
4. Jurisdiction of Sectoral Police (Kepolisian Sektor/ “POLSEK”) for sub-district.

 

2. Police administration areas are divided into jurisdictions based on regional government and integrated criminal justice system.

For example, if you witness a criminal act in a sub-district, then you can report it to the nearest POLSEK where the crime occurred. However, you may also report to the higher administrative areas, such as the POLRES, POLDA, or MABES POLRI.            

2. Report either in writing, verbally, or by means of electronic media to the Integrated Police Service Center (Sentra Pelayanan Kepolisian Terpadu/ "SPKT"), which is the implementing element of the main duty which leads and controls the integrated police service to the public report and presents information relating to the duties of the police.
3. Upon the report received by the SPKT (investigator/co-investigator), an initial review will be conducted in order to assess the feasibility of making a police report.
4. The police report is then numbered as an Investigation Administration Registration, namely the recording of investigation process activities manually and/or through an investigation e-management application.
5. After a police report has been drawn up, the investigator/co-investigator shall examine the complainant in the form of an official report on the interview of the reporting witness/ complainant.
6. After that, based on the report and initial investigation warrant, an initial investigation process will be carried out.
7. If the reported event constitutes a criminal act, then based on the police report and investigation warrant, an investigation process shall be conducted.

Investigation Procedure

According to the Regulation of the Chief of Indonesian National Police 6/2019, the investigation mechanisms are carried out as follows:

1. After an investigation order has been issued, a Notice of Commencement of Investigation (Surat Pemberitahuan Dimulainya Penyidikan/ “SPDP”) is drawn up;
2. The SPDP shall be sent to the public prosecutor, the complainant/victim, and the reported party within a maximum of 7 days after the issuance of the investigation warrant;
3. If a suspect is determined more than 7 days after the issuance of an investigation warrant, a notification of the determination of the suspect shall be sent along with the previous SPDP;
4. If the investigator has not submitted the case file within 30 days to the public prosecutor, the investigator must notify the progress of the case by enclosing the SPDP;
5. Prior to conducting an investigation, an investigator must draw up an investigation plan which is submitted to the investigator's supervisor.

By reporting a crime to the police, we are helping to ease the task of the police in maintaining a safe environment. Therefore, the reporting of alleged crimes is free of charge.

If any person demands payment, you may report that person to the Profession and Security Section (Seksi Profesi dan Pengamanan/ "Propam") of the Indonesian National Police.

Police Call Center Services

Is the call center service accessible for 24 hours? As far as we know, SPKT duty pickets receive reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to the information on the Call Center 110 website, citizens who make calls to the access number 110 will be directly connected to agents who will provide services in the form of information, reporting (accidents, disasters, riots, etc.), and complaints (insults, threats, acts of violence, etc.) free of charge.

However, the Indonesian National Police still urges the 110 services not to be created as a joke, because if this happens, the Police will certainly track down people who make false reports.

In the event that you have submitted a report but the police do not follow up on the report, please read the full explanation in the article entitled Procedures if the Police Do Not Follow Up Case Reports.

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These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 8 of 1981 on the Criminal Procedure Code;
2. Government Regulation Number 23 of 2007 on Jurisdiction of the Indonesian National Police;
3. Regulation of the Indonesian National Police Number 2 of 2021 on Organizational Structure and Work at the Level of Resort/Departmental Police and Sectoral Police;
4. Regulation of the Chief of Indonesian National Police Number 6 of 2019 on Criminal Investigation.

Reference:

1. Call Center 110, accessed on 20 December 2022, at 20.01 West Indonesia Time (zone);
2. Sentra Pelayanan Kepolisian Terpadu, accessed on 20 December 2022 at 16.27 West Indonesia Time (zone).