Murder Cases in Indonesia Show a Decreasing Trend Over the Past Five Years

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) report titled *Criminal Statistics 2023*, murder cases in Indonesia have shown a downward trend from 2018 to 2022.

The latest data indicates 854 murder cases in Indonesia throughout 2022. This figure represents a 7.87% decrease compared to the previous year's 927 cases.

The number of murder cases in 2022 was the lowest in the last five years. The highest number of murder cases was recorded in 2018, with 1,024 cases.

Nevertheless, a significant increase in murder cases occurred in 2021, as shown in the graph.

BPS recorded that the three Regional Police (Polda) jurisdictions with the highest number of murder cases in 2022 were East Java Police (Polda Jatim) with 102 cases, North Sumatra Police (Polda Sumut) with 84 cases, and West Java Police (Polda Jabar) with 53 cases.

Conversely, the jurisdictions with the fewest murder cases were North Maluku Police (Polda Malut) with 1 case, followed by Riau Islands Police (Polda Kepri) and West Sulawesi Police (Polda Sulbar), each with 5 cases.

The aforementioned number of murder cases/incidents does not reflect the total number of individuals involved. This is because a single murder case may involve more than one perpetrator or victim.

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to life is one of the most fundamental human rights. Furthermore, Article 28A of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia explicitly states that *everyone has the right to life and the right to defend their life and livelihood*.

Therefore, according to BPS, murder or crimes against life are considered the highest-ranking crimes in the international classification of crimes and carry the most severe penalties under the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP).