Law Enforcement Perspectives on Children in Conflict with the Law Due to Digital Crimes
Abstract
The rapid growth of digital technology has increased children’s involvement in cyber-related activities, which has consequently raised the number of minors in conflict with the law due to digital crimes. In Indonesia, this phenomenon is intensified by high internet penetration and limited digital literacy among adolescents. This study aims to analyze law enforcement perspectives on children involved in digital crimes within the framework of the juvenile criminal justice system and to identify factors influencing legal responses. This research employs a qualitative approach using a literature study design. Data were collected from academic journals, books, legal regulations, and official institutional reports through systematic searches of Google Scholar, Scopus, and national journal databases. The collected materials were analyzed using content and thematic analysis. The findings indicate that law enforcement perspectives are shaped by legal frameworks, institutional culture, technological complexity, harm severity, and social pressure. Although the Juvenile Criminal Justice System Law emphasizes restorative justice and diversion, its implementation in cybercrime cases remains inconsistent due to the deterrence-oriented provisions of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law. The study concludes that stronger legal harmonization, interdisciplinary training, and public awareness are essential to ensure a more consistent, child-centered justice system in the digital era.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Journals:
Adi, Samuel Kuncoro, Sulistyowati, Herwin, & Dewi, Putri Maha. (2025). Efektivitas Implementasi Diversi Dalam Sistem Peradilan Pidana Anak Di Indonesia (Studi Kasus Berdasarkan Penetapan Nomor 4/Pen. Div/2024/PN. Krg). Indonesian Journal of Islamic Jurisprudence, Economic and Legal Theory, 3(3), 2464–2469.
Anwar, Iryana, Prihatmini, Sapti, Azizah, Ainul, & Suarda, I. Gede Widhiana. (2024). Restorative Approaches to Managing Children in Conflict with the Law. Jurnal Ilmu Hukum Kyadiren, 6(1), 37–49.
Arif, R. (2018). Implementasi diversi dalam sistem peradilan pidana anak di Indonesia. Jurnal Hukum & Keadilan, 15(2), 89–105.
Booth, Andrew, James, Martyn St, Clowes, Mark, & Sutton, Anthea. (2021). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review.
Fikri, Rahul Adrian, Siregar, Abdul Rahman Maulana, & Rafianti, Fitri. (2022). Restorative justice efforts to provide a sense of justice for children. Journal Homepage: https://Ijmr. Net. In, 10(10).
Hinduja, Sameer, & Patchin, Justin W. (2019). Connecting adolescent suicide to the severity of bullying and cyberbullying. Journal of School Violence, 18(3), 333–346.
Hirschi, Travis, & Gottfredson, Michael. (1993). Rethinking the juvenile justice system. Crime & Delinquency, 39(2), 262–271.
Listyarini, Dyah. (2017). Juvenile Justice System through Diversion and Restorative Justice Policy. Diponegoro Law Review, 2(1), 168–184.
Livingstone, Sonia, & Smith, Peter K. (2014). Annual research review: Harms experienced by child users of online and mobile technologies: The nature, prevalence and management of sexual and aggressive risks in the digital age. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(6), 635–654.
Martono, Martono, Akbar, M. Gary Gagarin, & Rahmatiar, Y. (2025). Law Enforcement of Transnational Cybercrime: Case Study in Indonesia. DE LEGA LATA: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, 10(2), 279–286.
Moffitt, Terrie E. (2018). Male antisocial behaviour in adolescence and beyond. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(3), 177–186.
Putri, Claudia Carolina Indra. (2019). Juridical Review of Restorative Justice in the Juvenile Justice System through Diversion. Indonesian Journal of Criminal Law Studies, 4(1), 1–8.
Sinatrio, Wikan. (2019). The Implementation of Diversion and Restorative Justice in the Juvenile Criminal Justice System in Indonesia. JILS, 4, 73.
Snyder, Hannah. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339.
Steinberg, Laurence. (2009). Adolescent development and juvenile justice. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 5, 459–485.
Temple, Jeff R., Strasburger, Victor C., Zimmerman, Harry, & Madigan, Sheri. (2019). Sexting in youth: cause for concern? The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 3(8), 520–521.
Books:
APJII. (2013). Laporan survei internet APJII 2023. Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia.
Braun, Virginia, & Clarke, Victoria. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide.
Brenner, Susan W. (2010). Cybercrime: criminal threats from cyberspace. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
Creswell, John W., & Poth, Cheryl N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.
Holt, Thomas, Bossler, Adam, & Seigfried-Spellar, Kathryn. (2022). Cybercrime and digital forensics: An introduction. Routledge.
Kominfo. (2022). Status literasi digital di Indonesia (2022). Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika.
Krippendorff, Klaus. (2018). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Sage publications.
Moleong, Lexy J. (2019). Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif. Preprint (Open Science Framework), 15.
Ridley, Diana. (2012). The literature review: A step-by-step guide for students.
Rizkia, Nanda Dwi, Wiraguna, Sidi Ahyar, Nazmi, Nahdia, Hasibuan, Anggi Khairina Hanum, Huda, Miftakhul, Ahyani, Hisam, & Rasdiana, Rasdiana. (2024). Hukum perlindungan anak.
Scott, Elizabeth S., & Steinberg, Laurence. (2008). Rethinking juvenile justice. Harvard University Press.
Steinberg, Laurence, & Scott, Elizabeth S. (2010). Rethinking juvenile justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
UNICEF. (2017). The state of the world’s children: Children in a digital world. UNICEF.
UNODC. (2015). Justice in matters involving child victims and witnesses of crime. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Wall, David S. (2024). Cybercrime: The transformation of crime in the information age. John Wiley & Sons.
Warr, Mark. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Cambridge University Press.
Yar, Majid, & Steinmetz, Kevin F. (2023). Cybercrime and society.
Zed, Mestika. (2018). Metode penelitian kepustakaan. Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia.
Zehr, Howard. (2015). The little book of restorative justice: Revised and updated. Simon and Schuster.
Regulation:
Republic of Indonesia. (2008). Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions.
Republic of Indonesia. (2012). Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30659/akta.v13i1.51389
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Jurnal Akta has been indexed by:
Editorial Office: Jurnal Akta Room 2nd Floor Imam As Syafei Building Faculty of Law Universitas Islam Sultan Agung. Jln. Kaligawe KM. 4, Semarang City, Central Java, Indonesia.