Conceptualization of Setting Community-based Correction as a Form of Convict Fostering Based on Restorative Justice Principles in Correctional Institutions

Abstract

The high rate of recidivism in Indonesia is caused by the legal paradigm and politics of society which place imprisonment as a premium remedium. Consequently, various problems arise in prisons, such as prison overcapacity and other problems. The government has made an effort to countermeasures by issuing a new Correctional Law and Criminal Code which carries a new sentencing paradigm through restorative justice; however, the panitentiary has not had a breakthrough that is in line with the new paradigm. Community-based correction which was first recognized in New Zealand is deemed appropriate to be applied in Indonesia with adjustments according to philosophical, sociological, and juridical foundations to fill the void in norms in arranging community-based correction as a form of fostering prisoners in jails. This study is a normative legal research with a literature study. This study uses statute, case, fact, and comparative approaches. Community-based correction implemented in New Zealand bears similarities to the fostering of convicts implemented in Indonesia, such as probation, parole, work release, and residential center or the halfway house program. In the future, the concept of fostering convicts based on the principles of restorative justice will be implemented using the pattern of community-based correction. Community-based correction is conceptualized in two forms, namely as an alternative to conviction and an alternative to imprisonment. As an alternative to conviction, the concept can accommodate the implementation of supervision and social work punishments that are regulated in the new Criminal Code. As an alternative to imprisonment, community-based correction can take the form of optimization of the function of open prisons by providing an opportunity for convicts with a maximum sentence of three years to be placed in open prisons from the start of serving their sentence.
 Keywords: community-based correction, conviction, imprisonment, restorative justice