Foreign nationals living and working in Indonesia often experience doubts and confusion regarding the initial process of criminal procedures when they become victims or witnesses of alleged crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, or defamation. Their common question in practice is why the police do not immediately arrest and detain the suspect. Indeed, when a person becomes a victim of a crime, the police do not automatically initiate an investigation and arrest people. Generally, the victim must file a report with the police, and from there, the criminal procedure process can begin.

1. Prepare a Chronology of the Crime

Victims need to create a chronology of the crime. To facilitate the police, this chronology should include the locus delicti (location of the crime event), tempus delicti (time or timeframe of the crime event), a description of the event, the identity of the alleged perpetrator, and any evidence the victim possesses.

Some of the evidence admitted in Indonesian courts include witness testimony, letters or documents, and expert statements or testimony. To initiate an investigation, the police must have two pieces of sufficient preliminary evidence which they believe to be proof of a crime.

2. Consult a Lawyer

The victim can consult with a lawyer for legal assistance during the criminal procedural process. The lawyer can provide legal accompaniment for the victim as the reporting party to the police and during subsequent processes, including the investigation, as outlined in the interview transcript or examination transcript as a witness/victim.

If the victim requires the services of a lawyer, a special power of attorney must be made for this purpose. If the special power of attorney is issued abroad, it must be legalized at the Indonesian Embassy or Consulate in that country before it can be used within Indonesian jurisdiction. If the police report is followed up with an interview during the pre-investigation phase, the victim must also arrange for a sworn translator/interpreter to assist in translating the investigator's questions.

3. Filing the Police Report

When filing a police report, the victim will go to the Integrated Police Service Center (known as "SPKT"). There, the victim will meet the investigator assigned to the center to consult and describe the crime event. The investigator will then determine whether the incident constitutes a crime.

If the police report is registered in their investigation administration system and the investigator decides that the investigation begins, the investigator will notify the public prosecutor on the commencement of the case investigation. The public prosecution office will assign a prosecutor to examine the case dossier. The prosecutor may also provide guidance and instructions to the investigator to complete the investigation if there are lacks of evidence.

For the victim or reporting party, consultation with the investigator will clarify whether the reported event meets the elements of a crime under Indonesian criminal law.

4. The Investigation Process

If the alleged crime report is considered to meet the elements of a crime, the investigator will schedule an interview with the victim or reporting party — accompanied by a lawyer and a sworn translator/interpreter. The investigator will also summon relevant witnesses: those who saw, heard, or experienced the reported event.

Once all witness statements have been recorded, the investigator will summon the reported party for an interview. If investigators believe, based on sufficient preliminary evidence, that the reported person committed the crime, they will change his/her status to "suspect" and continue the investigation. Generally, if the alleged crime carries an imprisonment sentence of five years or more, investigators can detain the suspect to prevent fleeing, destruction of evidence, or repetition of the crime.

Conclusion

Investigators will not immediately arrest and detain a suspect unless the suspect is caught red-handed committing a crime. This answers the common question from foreign nationals as to why investigators do not immediately arrest criminal suspects — careful and cautious investigations are necessary to ensure the due process of law.

If you are a foreign national in Indonesia who needs legal assistance in a criminal matter, contact our team for a consultation.