Inadequate Criminal Policies as Threats to the Best Interests of Children Residing in Prisons with their Mothers

Abstract

Although the number of children residing in correctional institutions with their mothers in Indonesia is low, this has triggered issues related to the relevant policies and laws. This study examines the perspective of criminal laws and human rights policies regarding children residing in correctional institutions with their mothers and their implications for the fulfilment of the children’s rights. This study finds that the group of children does not belong to the category of individuals requiring special treatment. The Indonesian criminal justice system does not have a legal framework for handling those children. The correctional institutions failed completely to realise the children’s rights, due to the inability of the officers of the correctional institutions in interpreting and implementing the bic principle. Due to the absence of government’s clear guidelines, the treatment for such children, which is mostly adapted to their internal policies, varies among Indonesian correctional institutions.