Perlindungan Hukum terhadap Anak sebagai Pelaku Tindak Pidana Penganiayaan dalam Proses Penyidikan di Polrestabes Medan

Abstract

Legal protection for children is the process of ensuring and safeguarding children's rights to live, grow, develop, participate optimally according to their human dignity, and to be protected from violence and discrimination. This study aims to address the following issues: How is the legal protection provided to children as perpetrators of assault in the Juvenile Justice System in Indonesia? How is the implementation of legal protection for children as perpetrators of assault in the jurisdiction of the Medan Police Headquarters? And what are the challenges faced by investigators at the Medan Police Headquarters in providing legal protection for children as perpetrators of assault. The research method used is empirical research, which gathers data directly from society. This research is descriptive in nature, and the data analysis method used is qualitative descriptive. The results of the study show that legal protection for children as perpetrators of crimes in the Juvenile Justice System can be observed through the legal process, from the investigation stage, arrest, and detention, prosecution, trial, to rehabilitation. In practice, protection prioritizes the concept of diversion to achieve restorative justice, particularly for children under the age of 12 and those who have not committed repeated offenses (recidivism). Challenges faced by investigators in providing protection include law enforcement officers not having sufficient knowledge about child-related cases, the legal framework not offering alternative mechanisms for implementing diversion, and inadequate facilities and infrastructure.