Regarding Dedi Mulyadi's Program: "Naughty Children Enter the Barracks", A Populist Solution or Structural Repression?

Legal Literacy - The "naughty children enter the barracks" program initiated by Dedi Mulyadi, a West Java political figure and former Regent of Purwakarta, has garnered various responses. For some, this program appears to be a solution-oriented breakthrough in addressing the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency. However, upon closer examination, the semi-militaristic approach adopted in the program harbors fundamental issues, both from sociological, psychological, pedagogical, and juridical aspects. This article seeks to critically dissect these problems and offer alternative perspectives that are more humanistic and just.

Juvenile Delinquency: A Social Symptom, Not Merely Individual Morality

The label "naughty child" often becomes a social construct that simplifies the complexity of adolescent behavior. This term is used generally without contextual analysis of the social, economic, and psychological background of the adolescent in question. In many cases, juvenile delinquency such as truancy, fighting, the use of cigarettes or alcohol, and hanging out late at night, are forms of resistance to a social system that does not provide space for participation, not merely a reflection of an individual's bad character.

According to a UNODC (2022) study, the main determinants of juvenile delinquency include poverty, broken homes, lack of access to education, environmental influences, and the failure of family and school institutions to provide optimal parenting roles. This means that solutions to this problem cannot be achieved solely through disciplinary approaches, especially those that mimic rigid and coercive military structures.