Psychologist at UNISA Yogyakarta: Sending Juvenile Offenders to Military Barracks may be one way, but it’s not the only solution.

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi’s policy of sending juvenile delinquents to military barracks has sparked debate in the community. Not only criticism, this policy also raises various different views from experts, including from a lecturer and psychologist at Universitas ‘Aisyiyah (UNISA) Yogyakarta, Annisa Warastri, S.Psi, M.Psi, Psychologist.

According to Annisa, this policy can be one way to reduce the number of juvenile delinquents, especially when viewed from the discipline side. She said that naughty children are generally children who get out of the rules, so the approach that must be taken is to return them to the disciplinary structure.

“The definition of naughty is out of the rules, right? How do you get them organized? Yes, enter the rules again. Because in my opinion, to handle naughty children, they must be disciplined, basically naughty children have never been restrained by rules,” said Annisa, at UNISA, Thursday (5/22/2025).

Nevertheless, Annisa emphasized that sending children to military barracks cannot be considered as the only solution to deal with juvenile delinquency. She reminded that each child has a different psychological background, so the approach cannot be generalized.

“For some people you can, just a few people. Because when we talk about the psychology of people and the characteristics of each person are different. Maybe because this is the first time and the story is about military barracks, people are afraid, but basically the key is to be disciplined. It doesn’t always have to be the military barracks, for example something he likes,” he said.

In his view, to solve the problem of child delinquency, it is not only left entirely to the government. Rather, there must be a role for parents in shaping children’s character from an early age, because effective coaching starts from the family environment.

“Character is the result of a marriage between parenting and the environment, who makes parenting? Parents, right? For example, if the child is naughty, the parents usually spoil the child? Well, that’s the reason it can be like that, that’s what parents should be educated about,” he concluded.

Although this policy has not escaped debate, she still appreciates the steps taken by Dedi Mulyadi. Annisa assessed that this kind of attention is important as a first step to deal with the morals of the younger generation.

“I really appreciate the efforts of KDM (Kang Dedi Mulyadi). At least he tried, at least he tried. I don’t know, but there has been no governor since KDM, because I am a West Javanese, there has been no governor whose concern is related to juvenile delinquency. At least he has tried, and we have to appreciate him,” Annisa concluded.