Survey: Unemployment as a Major Factors in the Emergence of Thuggery

A Kompas Research and Development (Litbang) survey has identified several factors contributing to the emergence of thuggery in Indonesian society.

The results show that 40.9% of respondents considered unemployment and difficulty finding work as the primary factors behind the rise of thuggery.

Furthermore, 26.1% attributed the phenomenon to socio-economic inequality among citizens.

Other contributing factors are support for gangsterism from law enforcement and political figures (12.6%), weak security institutions such as the National Police/Polri (10.1%), and the large number of mass organizations (mass organizations) (9.2%).

“These various reasons indicate that economic problems are a key factor in the rise of thuggery in Indonesia,” wrote Kompas R&D researchers in their report on Monday, June 23, 2025.

The government is responding to the phenomenon of thuggery by establishing an Integrated Task Force for Handling Thuggery and Mass Organizations under the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs (Kemenko Polkam).

The task force will involve the Indonesian National Army (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), and related institutions. Kompas Research and Development also noted that 60.2% of respondents believe that this task force can control thuggery that disturbs the community.

The survey involved 514 respondents from 58 cities in 38 provinces randomly selected according to the proportion of the population in each province.

Data collection was conducted on May 19-22, 2025, through telephone interviews. The margin of error of this survey is approximately 4.25% with a confidence level of 95%, under simple random sampling conditions.