Police Discretion in Investigating Criminal Acts of Narcotics Abuse in the Tangerang City Police Legal Area

Abstract

Crime in society is increasingly varied, and its potential tends to increase from year to year. One of the crimes that often occurs is related to non-criminal drug abuse. Tangerang City is one of the regions in Indonesia that is currently facing this problem. The police, including the police at the Tangerang City Police, in dealing with the problem of narcotics abuse crimes are often faced with certain situations, which if not handled quickly, can hamper the investigation of narcotics abuse crimes. For this reason, the police are usually given permission to take the initiative for investigators to act using a special pattern of investigation (applying discretion). In connection with this, the main purpose of this study is to analyze the mechanism or practice of applying police discretion in the investigation of criminal acts of narcotics abuse in the jurisdiction of the Tangerang City Police, including if there is a violation in the application of discretion, accompanied by the obstacles that accompany it. To answer this problem, this research will be carried out using qualitative methods, trying to interpret something of the exercise of discretion in the investigation of criminal acts of narcotics abuse. Data were collected by conducting interviews and documentation, while data were analyzed by qualitative data analysis using interactive methods.