Handling People Smuggling Crimes in Border Areas: Batam City Case Study

Abstract

Riau Islands is its territory, mostly surrounded by the sea, and is an international trade route in the Strait of Malacca. Batam is one of the areas included in the Riau Islands and is directly adjacent to neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. The border area owned by Batam has strategic problems to be studied. From this problem, the condition of the border area can harm the site, one of which is people smuggling. So, from this, the researcher aims to examine the problem of handling people smuggling crimes in the border area of the Batam City case study. The research method carried out is descriptive qualitative. Researchers also obtained primary data from various interviews with related agencies and different secondary data in addition to completing this study. The interim result of this study is the problem of transnational crime. This study’s provisional result is that international crime is crossing the boundaries of a country whose actions have detrimental and dangerous effects. One of the ways to overcome this problem is the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which aims to eradicate transnational organized crime, one of which is related to people smuggling. In Indonesia, there is Law No. 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration, which also regulates people smuggling crimes in Indonesian territory, including Batam City. This law is one of the efforts to prevent people smuggling crimes. The border area as the front guard in maintaining the stability of the Republic of Indonesia must be maintained and supported. Because people smuggling has very potential as a gateway in and out of international criminal acts such as narcotics, human trafficking.