Borobudur Law and Society Journal

Begging and homelessness in Magelang Regency, a tourist destination, are handled under Regional Regulation No 1 of 2019, whose Article 30 punishes begging, vagrancy and giving money to beggars, while the Criminal Code provisions on begging and vagrancy that were once its companion have been repealed. This article asks how criminal law was enforced against beggars and homeless people in the Regency, what the new national criminal law changes, and whether the criminal approach is compatible with the state’s constitutional duty towards the poor. It is normative and empirical legal research: an analysis of the Regulation, the old and new Criminal Codes and the Constitution, supported by one interview with the head of the law enforcement division of the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP). The findings are that the task force required by the Regulation has not been formed, that raids end in recording and return or referral, that prosecution reached trial only once, and that Satpol PP lacks investigators, detention powers and holding facilities. The Regulation’s definitions are so wide that they reach buskers, and the criminal sanction has been overtaken by Law No 1 of 2023 and Law No 1 of 2026. The article recommends forming the task force, a referral protocol with safeguards, and revision of Article 30 into a narrow, fine-only provision.