The Strategy of Indonesia’s National Police Law Enforcement under Public Pressure and Social Media in East Java Province

Abstract

Social media plays an undeniable role in law enforcement, particularly in crucial cases. While this involvement has produced tangible results, public expectations and assessments on social media often vary considerably, sometimes exceeding legal boundaries or creating undue pressure on law enforcement agencies. In response to these social media phenomena, law enforcement officials and institutions must develop mechanisms that maintain legal principles while adapting to this new landscape. Law enforcers, while facing public pressure on social media, must prioritize legal principles that uphold substantive justice. A key challenge lies in effectively communicating legal information that both influences public opinion and educates citizens to develop fair and civically-minded perspectives. This research will examine the police's law enforcement strategy under public pressure and social media. The research method used in this research is qualitative with a descriptive-analytical approach. The results of this research are that in general, National Police investigators are often faced with a dilemma between strictly enforcing the law and considering social aspects and public impacts. In cases that go viral, investigators tend to act reactively, often responding to public pressure and social media instead of following strict legal procedures. At the same time, views on law enforcement are involved in endless debates as when laws are about to be formed or formulated, which actually rests on the issue of contextualization of law and the contextualization of legal events. Usually, the push for transparency, accountability, and professionalism in law enforcement only occurs after public pressure strengthens and cases slowly begin to open, although it is not uncommon for some to be resolved using a restorative justice approach which actually has no place in positive law in non-tapering law cases (minor crimes).