Candra Malik, Solo – The Central Java Police said on Wednesday that officers in the province were being encouraged to find amicable, mediated solutions to frivolous cases and petty crimes in an effort to clear the backlog of court dockets.

For years, seemingly trifling cases have taken place beside, and often superseded, trials involving more serious violent crimes or large-scale larceny.

In November 2009, four family members were arrested in Batang, Central Java, for collecting the remnants of a tree fiber harvest. They were charged with aggravated theft, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

A month later, a 55-year-old grandmother in Banyumas, Central Java, was charged with stealing three cacao pods. She served 18 days of house arrest before receiving a suspended sentence.

Legal experts have said cases such as these, almost always involving the poorest members of society, are not worth the cost they take to investigate and prosecute, and often end in harsh sentences that are later overturned.

That sentiment was shared by the province's police chief, Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang, who instituted the policy in which police and community leaders act as mediators between aggrieved parties in a dispute.

"I have myself for the past three months been applying this policy across three different districts in Central Java – Demak, Kendal and Salatiga," Edward said on Wednesday.

"This is a pilot project for now," he said. "We want to stop writing up police reports for frivolous cases, because they could then end up in court. Hopefully, this will be picked up by other districts in Central Java in due course."

He also disagreed with the view that prosecuting all cases, no matter how insignificant, was necessary to the proper functioning of the legal system. The pilot project, he said, was more economical and humane but still sought the fair application of justice.

Edward added that the policy followed a recommendation by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that law enforcers focus less on punishment and more on bolstering the public's perceptions of the justice system.

"However, the policy does not necessarily mean all minor crimes will not be prosecuted," he said. "We still have to look on a case by case basis."

According to him, a criminal case can be settled out of court if it meets certain conditions that both parties agree upon, putting in mind that the victims' interests are to be accommodated.

Previously, criminologist Mohammad Irvan Olii said police, racing to meet quotas set for number of crimes solved, often pursued such small cases due to the relatively higher assurance of notching up a conviction.

"The police have a professional target that they need to meet. Therefore processing such small cases is easier and ends quicker," he said.