From Prison to Stigma: The Cycle That the National Criminal Code Seeks to Break

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The reform of criminal law through the National Criminal Code (KUHP) not only changes the way the state punishes offenders but also seeks to break a more complex chain, from prison, stigma, to repeated crime.

Deputy Minister of Law, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej or Eddy Hiariej, stated that the direction of criminal law policy is no longer solely focused on prison sentences but also on actions and alternative sentencing.

Eddy assessed that the issue of recidivism cannot be separated from the way society treats former inmates after they return from prison.

In many cases, the legal process that has been undergone is not followed by social acceptance, so former inmates still carry the burden of negative labels in community life.

According to him, this stigma that continues to stick is not just a matter of perception but also contributes substantially to pushing someone back into criminal acts.

“Why do people often go in and out of prison? This is also society’s fault. I am sure you all know exactly, once someone has completed their sentence, say they committed theft or fraud, when they return to society, they become the subject of ridicule. Don’t get close to that person, he’s an ex-fraudster, an ex-thief, that stigma stays in his mind until death,” said Eddy.

“So, what makes the offender repeat their actions is actually the participation of society, which has given the stigma that he will never change again, even though that’s not the case,” he added.

In this context, repeated crime is not only understood as an individual failure but also as a consequence of a social environment that does not provide space for the reintegration process.