Minister of Immigration and Corrections: Prisons and Detention Centres Overcapacity by Up to 85 Percent, 53 Percent Filled with Drug Offenders

JAKARTA - Minister of Immigration and Corrections (Imipas) Agus Andrianto stated that prisons (Lapas) and detention centres (Rutan) in Indonesia are experiencing overcapacity issues of up to 85 percent. Agus said that as of 30 April 2026, the total number of inmates is 271,602 people. Broken down, there are 215,044 convicts and 56,558 detainees. “Currently, prisons and detention centres are overcapacity by 85 percent from the total number of 271,602 inmates. 146,376 people or 53 percent are for narcotics crimes. This is no longer just a crisis of overcapacity,” said Agus during a virtual Seminar on Corrections on Wednesday (6/5/2026). “It cannot be denied that this approach is one of the causes of overcapacity in Indonesia’s prisons and detention centres, as well as the social stigma attached to former inmates,” he stated. Agus said that overcapacity in prisons and detention centres is clear evidence of flaws in the legal system in responding to crimes that tend to be prison-centric. “(Prison) is not the first choice. In line with minimal penal theory and restorative justice. If all social problems are solved by imprisoning people, what is created is only a non-restorative culture and an endless cycle of recidivism,” he said.