Restorative Justice for Drug Crime in Indonesia

Abstract While Southeast Asian countries have long been key combatants in the international ‘war on drugs’, drug treatment centres have recently proliferated across the region, targeted at those who commit minor drug offences deemed undeserving of prison. In Indonesia, these centres are the focal point of a ‘restorative justice’ programme intended to reduce both drug use and prison overcrowding through compulsory treatment. Our research sought to understand how policymakers and practitioners conceptualised and adopted restorative practices in Indonesia; the status and operation of restorative justice processes in relation to the criminal justice system; and the quality of interventions and drug users’ experiences. To do so, this article draws on extensive interviews with representatives of civil society organisations and professionals working in the criminal justice system to examine the process from assessment and referral through to treatment. We found little evidence of practices that we would recognise as restorative justice: those who offend have little or no control over the diversion process or their treatment, which is characterised by inadequate due process protections, lack of independent oversight and abusive practices. Rather than restorative processes involving communities harmed by offending, this punitive, offender-focused model effectively constitutes another form of incarceration, expanding the carceral reach of the state.