The Maritime Dimension of Transnational Organized Crime: Engaging Indonesian Law Enforcement Agencies and Coastal Communities in the Land-Sea Nexus

Indonesia's maritime layout results in a close relation between transnational organized crimes and maritime security. Indonesia's immense maritime area not only enables the illegal smuggling and trafficking of goods and people by sea, but also allows for voracious crimes such as sea robbery and piracy and illegal fishing to go unpunished. These crimes come at great economic costs (recently estimated at $20 billion annually) but also threaten the already vulnerable livelihoods of many coastal communities. The capacity of Indonesia's law enforcement agencies is limited and their overlapping authorities hamper effective action. Next to law enforcement agencies, the project assumes an important role for Indonesia's numerous coastal communities. Until now these communities are seriously neglected in academic and policy debates on combatting transnational organized crimes at sea. Bringing coastal communities 'in' is truly new. The active participation of governmental agencies that are responsible for the enforcement of law at sea as well as coastal communities will result in a better mutual understanding and actual cooperation.

The prosed research builds on the collaboration between the Centre for Trust Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) of Coventry University (UK) and the International Organization for Migration Indonesia (IOM). This collaboration started in 2014 with a specific focus on the interrelation between maritime and human security issues in Indonesia. In 2015, the partners established a consortium focused on Indonesian maritime security. This consortium brings together key stakeholders from government, academia and the private sector and acts as an interface to conduct joint research. With the active involvement of IOM/Indonesia, support from the consortium, and with the interdisciplinary expertise of the investigators (experts in law, anthropology and political sciences), the proposed research is perfectly positioned to investigate the many challenges related to transnational maritime organized crimes. The research will investigate such issues as: who are considered to be the main actors in the maritime domain; which particular 'crimes' are being experienced and with what effect; what law enforcement tools and recourses are being used and with what success; what specific threats are articulated by coastal communities; how do the communities and law enforcers appreciate each other; and what do these stakeholders see as ways forward.

The research will provide insights into these matters on the basis of focus group discussions with staff members of law enforcement agencies (such as the Maritime Security Agency, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the National Search and Rescue Agency, the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, the Directorate General of Immigration and the Indonesian National Police) as well as with coastal community leaders and members. The selected coastal communities, of which a number are participants in IOM/Indonesia activities, include maritime crime prone locations in North Sumatra, South Java, Flores, Sulawesi, Maluku, and East Nusa Tenggara. The focus group sessions all include the making of collages, a visual tool through which the research participants are invited to express their experiences by using photos, newspaper headings, magazine clippings and other printed materials. These collages are intended to represent the participants' unique understanding of the maritime problems and the position of the various actors involved. These images will be used first of all to establish the direction of the research as well as to elicit discussions beyond standard interview sessions and support the interpretation of the legal and policy documents. This research design is considered best suited to understand the background of transnational organized crime, maritime security and law enforcement through the eyes of the key stakeholders involved.

There are three groups that will benefit from the proposed project in terms of impact: (1) the participants of the focus groups, (2) the communities and governmental agencies that they are part of, and (3) the wider community of maritime security and law enforcement stakeholders. The research project is intentionally participatory and inclusive. It aims at creating a culture of ownership among the participants, who must perceive themselves as subjects of the research, not as its objects. The participants are structurally involved in the research design, the production of new knowledge, the formulation of operational findings, and the specific dissemination of these findings; it makes the research participants co-producers of the knowledge so created and co-promoters of the results.

The participants will benefit directly from this research project through their participation in the focus groups. Through the creation of collages and the explaining of those collages, the participants are actively engaged in contextualizing the problem, perceiving the impact of maritime criminal activities on their own security and livelihoods, and contemplating their role in combatting crime and in increasing maritime security. Through the visual participatory method that we have chosen the participants will be stimulated in creative engagement, to think outside the box of existing 'language' and enabling them to express and show their opinion in an illustrative manner. The six coastal communities and the six government agencies mentioned in the case for support will benefit through the participation of their community and staff members, who will be stimulated and empowered to share their experiences and ideas with fellow community and staff members. The communities and agencies will formally benefit through dissemination of different materials such as articles, reports and the resulting collages and posters.

The partnership between CTPSR and IOM/Indonesia facilitates broader dissemination through the Consortium on Indonesian Maritime Security, which includes a broader range of stakeholders from government, academia and the private sector. The Consortium acts as a hub and manifesto for (research) cooperation and the fostering of more effective and sustainable responses to transnational organized crimes and maritime insecurities. The Consortium is well established, and secures impact through easy access to various government agencies and communities, quick and effective dissemination of outputs and the implementation and maximization of findings.

The publication of shorter policy papers and briefs (both in English and Indonesian) will be part and parcel of the project's aim to reach a wider national and international audience in the interconnected fields of maritime security and transnational organized crime, such as UNODC, INTERPOL or the Security Association for the Maritime Industry. Next, the proposed project will also launch a dedicated website through which research results and highlights will be disseminated. The website will include a portal for comments (in both English and Indonesian) from end user about the value of the results for their own practices. Finally, the most important impact tools will be the focus group's production of collages, which will be converted into actual posters and digitalized versions for web use and easy sharing (on social media) and the final materials that emerge from the research (reports and practice oriented publications). Hard copies of the posters will be produced to reach those without internet connection and/or computer skills. The posters are likely to have an informative and educational character highlighting the risks of transnational organized maritime crimes and suggestions for enhancing maritime security.