Budget Efficiency, LPSK Struggles to Fulfill Medical Assistance for 4,700 Crime Witnesses and Victims

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Budget cuts at the Witness and Victim Protection Agency or LPSK as an implication of President Prabowo's Instruction on state budget efficiency, have the potential to impact the declining quality of protection for witnesses and victims. Currently, LPSK is providing medical assistance and treatment at light to severe levels to 4,700 victims of crimes, including acts of terrorism and sexual crimes.

Deputy Chairperson of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) Susilaningtias stated that in 2024, LPSK will receive a budget of IDR 279 billion to implement LPSK programs.

The budget decreased in the 2025 State Budget, to IDR 229 billion. Currently, with budget efficiency, the amount of budget received by the institution has been reduced by up to IDR 85 billion.

Susilaningtias said that the budget cuts have the potential to hamper protection services for witnesses and victims of crime, as well as reporters, experts, and justice collaborators. "We are still detailing and looking for efficiency solutions. However, with this budget, it is impossible to provide optimal protection for witnesses and victims," he said in Jakarta, Wednesday (2/5/2025).

He continued, the number of requests for witness and victim protection continues to increase every year, with more than 10,217 requests in 2024.

With budget cuts, LPSK was forced to reject several requests for protection assistance.

"Reluctantly, we will reject the request. We still do not know how (to address it), we are still looking for a solution formula for savings," he said.

Budget cuts at LPSK are not happening for the first time. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the agency's budget was also slashed to only Rp 60–70 billion to handle criminal cases, which drastically decreased due to the pandemic. After receiving input from various parties, in 2020 the government finally provided an additional more than Rp 100 billion to meet the needs of witness and victim protection.

Currently, budget cuts are being made under normal conditions of witness and victim protection requests. This situation makes it difficult for LPSK to provide maximum protection to witnesses and victims of crime.

Susilaningtias mentioned that the main impact of budget cuts is the decline in the quality of protection for witnesses and victims. LPSK noted that currently there are around 4,700 victims who are still receiving assistance from LPSK, including medical services.

Budget constraints make it difficult to provide medical assistance for victims with severe injuries, such as victims of abuse or burn victims who require long-term care.

"If medical assistance is stopped, what will happen to the victims who need surgery or lifelong care? There are victims who need head surgery, or victims with lifelong injuries due to terrorism cases, and many more," he said.

He explained that the costs of crime victims cannot be fully covered by BPJS. Meanwhile, only a few local governments, such as DKI Jakarta and Bekasi, are willing to finance medical recovery for victims of crime.

However, many other regions do not yet have budget allocations to support this program. As a result, victims rely on assistance from LPSK to access medical services and physical protection.

In addition, budget cuts have an impact on the implementation of the Constitutional Court (MK) ruling which must be implemented by LPSK, and affect the handling of several major cases, such as the protection of witnesses and victims of narcotics cases and money laundering (TPPU).

The budget cuts were made based on Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 2025 which was signed by President Prabowo Subianto on January 22, 2025. In the Presidential Instruction, the President instructed ministries, institutions, and regional governments to streamline the state budget by up to IDR 306.69 trillion.

Based on data received by Kompas, not all agencies are affected by budget cuts. Law enforcement agencies such as the Indonesian National Police (Polri), the Attorney General's Office (Kejagung), the Supreme Court (MA), and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), among others. The 2025 budget ceiling for the Polri remains at IDR 126.6 trillion, the AGO at IDR 24.2 trillion, the MA at IDR 12.6 trillion, and the KPK at IDR 1.2 trillion.

Susilaningtias hopes that witness and victim protection will remain a priority as part of the criminal justice system. If the budget is cut, the impact will be very large on access to justice for victims and witnesses.

"We hope that LPSK as part of public service and law enforcement, is inseparable from law enforcement agencies, such as the National Police, the Attorney General's Office, and the Supreme Court. LPSK is part of the criminal justice system. Law enforcement should be supported by the process of protecting witnesses and victims," he said.