by Dr. Boy Yendra Tamin, SH, MH
It is not easy to explain the relationship between crime and the rule of law. But certainly, quality legal life and consistency of law enforcement are things that cannot be ignored in the rule of law. In this connection it is understood that the number of cases or high crime rates is not only a legal problem, but clearly influences the legal problem.
In the past few years, there has been no country without legal and criminal problems. Every day, various events and debates about the law continue to occur and are endless. Starting from small legal cases to large and complex ones continue to emerge. The hustle and bustle of legal life ultimately questions the performance of law enforcement agencies.
On the one hand, the increasing intensity of certain legal cases is worrying the community, on the other hand it is becoming a valuable learning for the community related to legal cases that occur to be studied and used as guidelines in daily life, especially to increase legal awareness.
Television, print and digital media continually expose news about crime or legal cases. In fact, for certain cases used as a topic of discussion and discussed in depth. Media coverage of criminal cases or law enforcement is certainly not limited to news. That is, news of legal cases must provide an understanding to the public, there are laws in a country. Therefore, the response to a legal case must not stop merely understanding the legal case.
Behind the crime cases that are conveyed by the media to the public, it is not without problems. There are various possibilities that arise in the community, for example, legal cases aired by the media can inspire others to do the same thing or with a little modification. This requires the readiness of law enforcement agencies to improve supervision and preventive measures so that the same (criminal) event does not occur in its jurisdiction. Another possibility is that people determine their own legal actions by looking at examples and comparing them with the legal problems they face. Worse than that, the public makes their own decisions about the legal problems they face and does not believe in the processes and mechanisms of law enforcement that have been determined by laws and regulations. This condition can occur because of distrust of the law that cannot be separated from how the law was developed and implemented.
Related to the negative effects of reporting events and legal cases to the public through various instruments or media, the rapid flow of crime or the increase in legal cases is a moment for the government of a country to make better efforts to realize a strong rule of law state. That is, when the law has entered the minds of the community, then this is the time to determine steps to achieve quality implementation and strengthen the consistency of law enforcement. The rush for reporting legal cases should not only be considered a problem, but should be used as a force to create better legal rules. Laws that have grown in the community's thinking space should not be allowed to sink into distrust of the law. This can occur if the response to an analysis of legal life or management of legal cases is limited to understanding legal events.
Trust in legal institutions and law enforcement agencies is the main energy to improve the life of law and the quality of the rule of law. Therefore, legal cases and legal events must be positioned as material to improve the life of the law and not only as a material discussion. This need is very important for in country that declares itself to be a state of law. There is no reason to complain about the increasing crime in a country, no matter how difficult the law is formed and implemented. (***)