Children and crime: A study on child perpetrators in South Sumatera, Indonesia

Abstract

One of the crucial social problems that require an urgent solution is the phenomenon of children as perpetrators of crime. This study elaborates on children as perpetrators of crime using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice, through the dialectic of habitus, capital, and field. The research was conducted from a phenomenological perspective, and to this end, the researcher directly met with 12 child offenders at LPKA Palembang, and 2 children in Kayuagung Prison, all of whom were boys. According to the study, the habitus is defined as the disposition to commit crimes, which in this context for child perpetrators, was associated with past experiences, parenting since childhood, as well as the results of environmental dialectics. Crime is also manifested in the capital - social capital in the form of networks with criminals, cultural capital in the form of the knowledge of the ins and outs of crime, and symbolic capital concerned with the desire to become a majorly respected criminal. Meanwhile, economic capital was regarded as the capital to be gained from the crimes committed. However, the hierarchical crime field illustrates the vulnerable position of child perpetrators, as they are often “used” by adults who are also involved in crime. The use of theory of practice in the context of children and crime is a new perspective that is still rarely used. Theory of practice not only turns this study into a descriptive one, but also gives due consideration to the power relations of the parties involved in the crime.