Borobudur Law and Society Journal

Klitih, random street violence mostly committed by teenagers, has been reported in Magelang and weakens residents’ sense of safety outdoors, yet its legal treatment is rarely analysed as a set of offences. This article asks how criminal law and criminology explain klitih and how it should be handled, with attention to child offenders. It is normative legal research using the statute approach and a conceptual approach based on criminological theory, applied to statutes, Supreme Court regulations, the literature and press reports of incidents, analysed descriptively and qualitatively. No judicial decision could be analysed in full. The article finds that klitih is not a separate offence: depending on the facts it is charged as assault, murder, group violence or possession of a sharp weapon. Its provisions have moved from the old Criminal Code to Law No 1 of 2023, in force since 2 January 2026. Where the offender is a child, Law No 11 of 2012 requires diversion for offences below seven years and treats imprisonment as a last resort, which limits the call for heavy sanctions. Criminologically, klitih is best explained as a group subculture shaped by weak social control. The article recommends prosecution proportionate to the conduct, restorative handling of child offenders, and prevention through schools, families, police patrols and collection of local data.