Rieke Urges Issuance of Presidential Regulation on National Social Reintegration System
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Member of Commission XIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Rieke Diah Pitaloka, has urged the government to immediately issue a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) concerning the National Social Reintegration System to address the issue of overcrowding in correctional institutions. According to her, this regulation is essential to prevent recidivism and facilitate the recovery of narcotics clients, given that 50 per cent of prison inmates in Indonesia are currently involved in narcotics-related offences.
“The Presidential Regulation must serve as a national instrument to accelerate the implementation of the new Criminal Code (KUHP) and Criminal Procedure Code (KUphap) by establishing BAPAS (Parole Offices) as the national case manager for the execution of supervisory sentences, community service, social reintegration, and post-sentence narcotics clients,” Rieke stated in Jakarta on Monday.
She explained that the regulation should emphasise the accelerated establishment of new Parole Offices, the strengthening of BAPAS posts, Griya Abhipraya, and the gradual fulfilment of Correctional Officer (PK) human resources to meet national requirements. Furthermore, it should involve the integration of data from the Police, Prosecutor’s Office, Courts, Correctional Services, BAPAS, the National Narcotics Board (BNN), and Local Governments into a single national digital system.
Additionally, the regulation should mandate local governments to provide social rehabilitation, health, education, job training, competency certification, economic empowerment, and community support for correctional clients. This includes reforming the correctional curriculum to focus on improving the quality of inmates’ human resources through equivalency education, digital literacy, vocational training, entrepreneurship, and certifications that align with labour market needs and regional economic potential.
Partnerships between correctional units and the business world, industries, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), cooperatives, MSMEs, universities, and training institutions are also necessary to ensure every inmate has a clear pathway for education, skills, and employment opportunities upon release. “This Presidential Regulation also serves to strengthen rehabilitation and specialised guidance for narcotics clients to suppress recidivism and break the chain of narcotics circulation,” she added.
Rieke noted that the success of the correctional system should not merely be measured by prison security or the number of inmates released. “The true measure of success is how many inmates return to society with skills, jobs, economic independence, and do not repeat criminal offences,” she explained.
She stated that if more than half of prison inmates are narcotics cases, then the strengthening of BAPAS, correctional education, and social reintegration must become a national agenda. “Without this, overcrowding will continue to recur, recidivism will remain high, and the goals of criminal law reform will not be achieved.”
Based on correctional data presented by the Director General of Correctional Services during a hearing, the number of inmates in prisons and detention centres across Indonesia as of 2 June 2026 reached 272,577 against a capacity of 146,860, resulting in an 86 per cent overcrowding rate. At the same time, only 94 Parole Offices are available against an ideal requirement of 514, and there are only 2,624 Correctional Officers against an ideal need of 16,422.
The operational needs for BAPAS in 2026 are estimated at Rp168 billion, rising to Rp338 billion in 2027, while budget support remains very limited. Data from the Director General indicates that Indonesia faces serious challenges in implementing Law Number 22 of 2022 on Corrections, Law Number 1 of 2023 (Criminal Code), Law Number 20 of 2025 (Criminal Procedure Code), and Law Number 1 of 2026 (Adjustment of Punishment).
While criminal law reform has shifted the focus towards guidance, rehabilitation, social reintegration, and non-custodial sentences, the institutional capacity to execute these mandates remains inadequate. This situation is inextricably linked to narcotics issues. Research from the Directorate General of Correctional Services in 2026 shows there are 146,365 inmates in narcotics cases, consisting of 96,030 traffickers, distributors, receivers, and producers, and 50,335 users.
“This means more than 50 per cent of correctional inmates are narcotics cases, so the overcrowding problem is essentially an unresolved narcotics problem from upstream to downstream,” said Rieke. She emphasised that handling narcotics requires more than just a security-based approach; it requires a system connecting sentencing, rehabilitation, education, vocational training, social reintegration, and regional development to ensure inmates do not return to the same cycle of crime.