The Role Of The Banda Aceh City Police In Addressing Vigilantism: An Analysis Of Article 13 Of Law No. 2 Of 2002 On The Indonesian National Police

This study aims to analyze the role of the Banda Aceh City Police in combating vigilantism and to identify the obstacles encountered in its implementation. This study employs an empirical-juridical method using both a legal and a conceptual approach. Research data were obtained through interviews with officials from the Banda Aceh City Police and supported by relevant legal materials and literature sources, then analyzed using qualitative descriptive methods. The results indicate that the Banda Aceh City Police’s role in combating vigilantism is carried out through three approaches: preemptive, preventive, and repressive. Preemptive efforts are carried out through raising public awareness and promoting legal compliance, as well as through outreach, public education, and communication with community leaders and the younger generation. Preventive efforts are carried out through patrols, security measures, surveillance, raids, and monitoring to prevent disturbances to public safety and order. Meanwhile, repressive measures are carried out by receiving reports, identifying those involved, conducting investigations, and enforcing the law against perpetrators of violence. In implementing these measures, the Banda Aceh City Police face challenges such as difficulty in identifying perpetrators because the acts are committed spontaneously and involve many people, a limited number of witnesses willing to provide testimony, and low participation by some members of the public in supporting the law enforcement process. This study also found that the lack of statistical data specifically classifying acts of vigilantism constitutes a limitation in quantitatively measuring the effectiveness of countermeasures. Therefore, addressing acts of vigilantism requires strengthening community participation, raising legal awareness, and implementing more structured recording and documentation of incidents to support the ongoing evaluation of response efforts.