Reform of the Restorative Justice System for Cross-Age Offenders at Lapas Tanjung Gusta

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FORMOSA NEWS - Medan - Overcrowded Indonesian Prisons Need Restorative Justice Reform for Cross-Age Inmates, Study Finds. Researchers Susan Oktaviana and Ida Hanifah from Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara examined the implementation of post-adjudication restorative justice for cross-age offenders at Class I Medan Tanjung Gusta Correctional Institution during an observation period spanning 2025 to 2026. Published in May 2026, their study reveals that while early release and social reintegration programs help lower prison populations, the lack of tailored policies for different age groups especially elderly inmates limits the full potential of restorative legal reforms in Indonesia.

Background: Severe Prison Overcrowding in Indonesia
Indonesia's national criminal justice system faces severe structural pressures due to overcapacity in correctional facilities. Data from the Correctional Database System of the Directorate General of Corrections indicates that as of April 2026, prisons and detention centers across Indonesia held approximately 271,468 inmates against an ideal national capacity of 146,260, resulting in an overcrowding rate of roughly 85 percent. The problem is particularly intense in North Sumatra. At Class I Medan Tanjung Gusta Correctional Institution, designed for an ideal capacity of 1,500 prisoners, the inmate population reached roughly 2,960 by the end of 2025 an overcrowding rate of 97.33 percent. Although population numbers dropped slightly to 2,863 inmates by May 2026, the facility remains operating at nearly double its intended capacity. This heavy density creates hurdles for inmate healthcare, security, and rehabilitation efforts.

Research Methodology
The researchers utilized an empirical juridical approach with a socio-legal perspective to evaluate how legal principles operate in real-world settings. The study applied legal theorist Lawrence M. Friedman’s framework, analyzing three dimensions of the legal system:

• Legal Substance: Regulations and policy frameworks governing restorative justice.
  
• Legal Structure: The capacity and performance of correctional institutions and officers.
  
• Legal Culture: Social values, attitudes, and community perceptions toward crime and punishment.
  

Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with inmates across various age groups, correctional officers, and staff involved in social reintegration. The authors complemented fieldwork interviews with statutory regulations, official correctional records, and academic literature

Key Research Findings

• Post-Adjudication Mechanics: Restorative justice at the post-adjudication stage functions primarily through administrative programs such as parole, conditional leave, and pre-release leave supervised by the Correctional Center.
  
• Impact on Occupancy: Early release and reintegration initiatives contributed directly to reducing the inmate population at Tanjung Gusta from 2,960 in late 2025 to 2,863 in mid-2026.
  
• Uniform Rehabilitation Rules: Social reintegration rules are applied uniformly based on inmate conduct and sentence time served, without differentiating the unique rehabilitation needs of distinct age groups.
  
• Elderly Inmate Vulnerabilities: Support for elderly prisoners remains largely restricted to humanitarian remissions granted for severe medical conditions. Elderly inmates serving long-term sentences frequently struggle to find family guarantors required for conditional release, leaving them stuck in prison.
  
• Dominant Offense Profile: Productive-age adults (ages 30–49) make up the largest demographic at the facility, while narcotics-related crimes represent the most dominant offense category.
  

Real-World Impact and Systemic Reform
To resolve these challenges, Oktaviana and Hanifah proposed an integrative restorative justice reform model that bridges pre-adjudication dispute resolutions with post-adjudication correctional care.

Reform Dimension	Primary Strategic Focus
Legal Substance	Harmonize restorative justice laws from pre-trial to prison stages; introduce age-sensitive rehabilitation guidelines for elderly inmates.
Legal Structure	Expand officer training on cross-age rehabilitation; build flexible guarantor verification systems that do not rely solely on immediate family.
Legal Culture	Shift public and judicial mindsets away from pure retributive imprisonment toward community-supported social recovery.

Adopting this model can help policymakers, prison authorities, and legal practitioners lower recidivism, ease facility overcrowding, and protect the human rights of vulnerable inmate populations.

Author Profiles
Susan Oktaviana, S.H. holds a degree in law from Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara, specializing in socio-legal studies and correctional law reform.
Dr. Ida Hanifah, S.H., M.H. is an academic and legal scholar at Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara, specializing in criminal law, legal system theory, and restorative justice.

Source
Susan Oktaviana, Ida Hanifah. Reform of the Restorative Justice System for Cross-Age Offenders at Lapas Tanjung Gusta. International Journal of Law Analytics (IJLA). Vol. 4, No. 2, Halaman 219-238.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.59890/ijla.v4i2.225
URL: https://journal.multitechpublisher.com/index.php/ijla