The Cost of Inaction: A Portrait of Street Beggars in Medan City

The practice of exploitation of street children beggars occurs almost entirely in Indonesia, especially in big cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Bali, Ujung Pandang and Medan. The activities they carry out include, offering shoeshine services, selling newspapers, selling packaged food and drinks, begging by asking others for mercy, busking [1]. Locations that are often used for begging activities are shopping centers, traffic light intersections and other crowded centers. In carrying out the act of begging, it is often carried out by coercion by getting closer to the person who is the target of begging, especially women so that they feel compelled to give some money so that the beggar street child immediately stays away from them [2].

Various efforts made by the government to alleviate the problem of exploitation of street child beggars have not been fully able to provide a solution because in various regions in Indonesia [3], including in the city of Medan, street child beggars are still easy to find, especially at traffic light intersections, even their number is increasing. the day is increasing. Their presence often causes social problems such as crime, crime, the emergence of slums and the destruction of city parks [4].

The problem of alleviating street child beggars is mainly due to the lack of seriousness by the actors who made the policy to supervise them in accordance with the contents of the policy [5]. Both come from institutional actors, group actors and individual actors. Institutional actors who make policies in this field have not fully carried out their functions, such as the Medan City Government, the Medan City DPRD, the Medan City Police Resort, the Social Service and the Civil Service Police Unit. The difficulty of dealing with the problem of exploitation of street beggars is exacerbated by the unavailability of accurate data related to the number of street child beggars by relevant institutions, both government agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Marshall and Gerstl-Pepin describe that "a policy is the result of interactions between policy actors, each of whom uses resources and has sources of influence. These policy actors can be divided into (a) main actors (official, or structural), and (b) non-main actors (unofficial, or non-structural)” [6]. Thus, the role of actors in the formulation of policies for overcoming the exploitation of street children beggars in the city of Medan is very important to be studied further [7]. The government as the main actor must be able to carry out coordination with other stakeholders properly [8]. Besides that, the government is expected to be able to become a facilitator for non-main actors such as the private sector and the community in integrating existing interests in the formulation of the policy [9], so that in the future there will be an effective legal umbrella regarding the prevention of street child beggars in the city of Medan.

Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2003 concerning the Prohibition of Homeless and Begging and Immoral Practices in Medan City which is 19 years old as a result of the policy of the Medan Mayor and the Medan City DPRD have not shown maximum performance in dealing with street child beggars, as well as the Medan City Social Service (which has changed its name several times), the Resort Police of the Big City of Medan and the Civil Service Police Unit. While it is alleged that there are group actors who manage begging activities to become a covert profession without strict sanctions even though they openly carry out their activities, the same goes for individual actors who beg on the streets that have not been fully sanctioned even though the Regional Regulations that regulate this already exist.

The tendency for the increasing number of street child beggars nationally also occurs in the city of Medan. The data on street child beggars in Medan City is different from that stated by the Medan City Social Service and there is no continuous data every year. In 2014, according to the Medan City Statistics Office, the number of street child beggars was 1526 people or 50.26% of the data on street child beggars in North Sumatra. Meanwhile, according to data obtained from the Indonesian Heritage Foundation (YPI) there were 1,500 people. According to the North Sumatra Child Protection Association (PPAI) that, out of 5,000 street child beggars in North Sumatra, 1,800 people are in Medan City. Meanwhile, according to the Urban Social Working Group (KKSP) there are 1,150 street children beggars in Medan City [10]. However, when viewed from the aspect of street children's begging practices, their presence is increasingly easy to find in various crowded locations, such as in shopping centers, begging from door to door and the practice of begging at traffic light intersections.

Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 consists of 6 chapters and 7 articles. Chapter I describes the institutions involved in dealing with beggars, types of begging, prostitutes and places for prostitutes. Chapter 2 explains the prohibitions related to the prohibition of vagrancy and begging, the prohibition of using other people, for example babies, small children, bringing in a person or group of people for the purpose of begging. Chapter 3 discusses supervision and development, including supervision of Regional Regulation 6 of 2003, the formation of an integrated and technical team to deal with homeless people, beggars and prostitutes. Whereas Article 4 discusses coaching for the homeless, beggars, and prostitutes in the form of activities that combine other skills and expertise. Chapter IV alludes to Criminal Provisions in the form of imprisonment for a maximum of 6 (six) months or a maximum fine of Rp. 5,000,000 (five million rupiah) for violators of this Regional Regulation. Chapter 5 alludes to investigators, namely civil servants within Pemko Medan who are authorized to become investigators to investigate criminal acts violating provisions regarding solutions to the problem of homelessness and begging and immoral practices in Medan. Chapter VI which is the closing regulation contains the entry into force of Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2003, namely since its signature by the Mayor of Medan, namely December 23, 2003 [11].

Seeing the age of Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2003 concerning the prohibition of homeless people and beggars and immoral practices in the city of Medan, which has reached 18 years until 2021, is certainly a bad record for alleviating street child beggars. The responsibility for this is not only the City Government of Medan because this also involves state responsibility as mandated in the 1945 Constitution.

It is difficult for the Medan City Government to carry out the exploitation of street children beggars independently and needs to cooperate with buffer zones such as the Regional Government of Deli Serdang Regency, Binjai City Government and the Langkat Regency Government. This cooperation can be carried out with a collaboration system according to their respective roles. This cooperation is one of the policies that requires collaborative governance studies.

Collaborative governance is an instrument used to solve a problem, and the right instrument to confront a problem, because collaborative governance creates shared ownership of the problem. Various actors have different perspectives in looking at a problem. It is not easy to create an understanding between the roles of these actors. Collaborative governance acts as mediator so that actors can formulate the same understanding on a problem [12]. Collaborative governance is a new strategy in governance that makes various stakeholders gather in the same forum to form a joint consensus in dealing with various problems.

Article 34 of the 1945 Constitution states, "The poor and neglected children are cared for by the state". This means survival and responsibility for caring for abandoned children, the State has control over street children and the poor [13]. As a result, the government has a direct obligation to eliminate the problem of street children, beggars which are fully managed by the government through its institutions with coordinated finances, the power to make policies in this field such as the Ministry of Social Affairs, Provincial Social Services, District/City Social Services, Satpol PP and the Police. Republic of Indonesia. Related to the contents of Article 34 of the 1945 Constitution, to deal with the problem of poverty in Medan, government has also issued Medan City Regional Regulation No. 5 of 2015 concerning Poverty Alleviation. However, after 6 years of the regional regulation, the poverty rate in Medan City is still relatively high, as shown in the following table [14].

Responding to the phenomena and problems mentioned above, this study aims to examine the implementation of local regulations on beggars and street children that have been running so far, so that a future policy formula is found to reduce the number of homeless people, beggars and street children.

3.1 Phenomena and activities of street beggars

The increase and distribution of street beggars in the city of Medan continues to increase. The more we get used to seeing the scenery both in the morning and in the evening, a group of sprawl and street children getting on/off a pick-up vehicle led by a certain person such as the Old Fish Tax, Aksara Tax and several other places then in the afternoon they wait for a pick-up at a different location. same. This condition runs regularly without any maximum effort to stop it. The Medan City Government seems to have turned a blind eye to this problem. By neglecting it without maximum effort to stop it, it creates a public perception that the life of slums and street children in Medan City is left alone. This finding is in line with the data presented in the following Table 1:

Table 1. Composition of adolescent and adult beggars in Medan city in 2016-2020

Source: Medan city social service in 2021 (processed)

The table above shows that in 2019 there were 247 teenage and adult beggars in Medan City, of which 167 people were male and 80 female. Meanwhile, in 2020 the number will increase to 372 people, of which 246 people are male and 126 people are female. In carrying out their begging operations, it is almost the same as what beggars do at the age of children, such as raising their hands to passersby while pleading, visiting people's houses and some carrying small children [17].

The raids on homeless people and beggars are carried out by the Social Service of the City of Medan, almost every month and some are even carried out 2 (two) times a month in accordance with the widespread practice of homeless people and beggars with information and field reviews conducted by the Social Service of the City of Medan. In the last 5 (five) years, the frequency of raids on homeless people and beggars by the Social Service of Medan City can be seen in the following Table 2.

Table 2. Frequency of raids on homeless people and beggars in Medan city in 2016-2020

Source: Medan City Social Service in 2021 (processed)

The table data above shows that the intensity of raids on homeless people and beggars in Medan City is carried out 15 times every year. Raid activities are usually prioritized at certain times, for example, before the fasting month of Ramadan, before the New Year. Routines that occur every time before the fasting month of Ramadan, will appear new homeless and beggars. They come from various regions with the hope of getting a bigger income because during the month of Ramadan, Muslims usually have a habit of distributing some of their sustenance in the form of sadaqah to the poor. This opportunity is a momentum that is used by the homeless and beggars [18].

During the month of Ramadan, raids are carried out 2-3 times a month with the aim of controlling the presence of homeless people and beggars so as not to disturb the comfort of the people who are in that location. In each of these raids it is usually carried out suddenly so that the homeless and beggars have no preparation to escape. However, the chase between the officers and the slum residents could not be avoided because they did not want to be disciplined and transported in the supervisory official's car brought by the officers [19]. After going through negotiations and sometimes having to use coercion, the homeless and beggars are still taken to the halfway house to receive guidance and direction from the Medan City Social Service officers.

In every raid activity, the priority of the raid target points are certain locations that are frequently visited or occupied by the homeless. Thus, the City of Medan, which consists of 21 sub-districts and 151 sub-districts, not all of these areas became the location of the raid. The priority of the raids is more directed to the location of the red light intersection which is the location of begging by the homeless and beggars with various modes of carrying out their operandi [20].

The begging operandi which is carried out by posing like a clown is not only on the streets but is also carried out from house to house [21]. While the silver or silver man in action in his begging by painting his whole body with silver paint, then walking to the riders while raising their hands to get some rupiah like a robot walking with rigidity. The amount of money given by philanthropists to beggars and beggars is between Rp.1,000-Rp.10,000, and rarely more than Rp.10,000 (ten thousand rupiah) is given to them. The legal umbrella that regulates the prohibition of the exploitation of street beggars in the city of Medan is Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 concerning the Prohibition of Homeless and Begging and Immoral Practices in the City of Medan. The stipulation of this Regional Regulation is with the aim of realizing the achievement of a Bestari City of Medan, so that the presence of homeless people and beggars in several places that are considered to often pollute the beauty of the City of Medan needs to be brought under control [22].

With the increasing number of homeless people and beggars who carry out begging activities on the streets, traffic light intersections, mosque courtyards, pedestrian bridges, in city parks, it causes Medan City to seem slum, so the local government program wants to make Medan City a Bestari City, as a cultural tourism destination and government service center will be affected. The general provisions of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 concerning the prohibition of homeless people and begging and immoral practices in Medan City clearly stipulates that homeless people are people who live in conditions that are not in accordance with the norms of a decent life in the local community and do not have a place to live and precarious work in certain areas and nomadic life in public places. While beggars are people who earn income by begging in public places in various ways, either in the form of busking and other reasons to expect mercy from others [23].

Chapter II article 2 paragraph (1) of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 stipulates, "it is forbidden to carry out homelessness and begging in groups or individually or in any way by influencing/causing the mercy of others". Based on the field research that the author did, it shows that the contents contained in Article 2 paragraph (1) of the Regional Regulation are not in accordance with the reality in the research location, where street beggars and homeless children beg for motorized vehicle drivers with various modes such as: offering products in the form of paper towels, singing, asking for mercy from others, posing like a silver man, looking and posing like a clown, and those asking for sadaqah are still often found in places that are often used as locations for begging in the city of Medan [24].

Paying attention to the exploitation of street child beggars or the pattern of begging carried out by street child beggars in Medan City can be classified into 3 (three) types, namely, through organized groups, under parental supervision and independently. For details, see the following Table 3.

Table 3. Exploitation of street child beggars in Medan City in 2021

Source: Research data for 2021 (processed)

Street child beggars are exploited in an organized manner, they are escorted to the begging location by the group. Before they carry out their begging operations, they are usually briefed or given an explanation by the organizing party about the right strategy to get maximum begging results. Parents who exploit their children to beg will usually take their children to the location. According to the author's observations, some of these parents continue to supervise the child as long as the person concerned is carrying out his begging operations, while some of them only deliver in the morning, then pick him up in the afternoon or afternoon. Street child beggars who beg independently, usually have the characteristics of rough, slum and homeless lives. They often misuse the inhaled goat stamp glue to calm themselves. Not infrequently in doing begging they are in a state of complete unconsciousness. Some of the exploited children are rented out or entrusted to adults to beg with them. Children who are exploited by adults usually give some money to the parents or guardians concerned.

In carrying out his begging activities, Dinas was escorted by his father who worked as a rickshaw puller and his mother as a housewife. Every day from his begging activities, he usually earns a net income of IDR 40,000 to IDR 60,000. Dimas, who is still in elementary school grade 5, has a desire to become a police officer, so part of the money he earns from begging is saved and part of it is given to his parents. Dimas, who still has 2 younger siblings, said that his family's economy was greatly helped by the income given to his parents.

1. Actors in the Exploitation of Street Child Beggars

The exploitation of street children beggars in the city of Medan is due to the involvement of actors in these activities. The involvement of these actors differ from one another. It is undeniable that the increasingly widespread practice of street child beggars in the city of Medan is the result of poverty that has not been eradicated, however, the problem is increasingly complicated due to the involvement of actors. These actors include institutional, non-institutional, political actors and individual actors. For clarity, it can be described as in the Table 4 below.

Table 4. The role of actors in the exploitation of street beggars in Medan city year 2021

Source: Research results in 2021 (processed)

The Medan City Social Service is a Technical Implementation Unit of the Medan City Government in the social field, this is in accordance with the mandate contained in Article 1 point (e) of Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2003 concerning, Prohibition of vagrants and begging as well as the practice of prostitution in Medan City, which states "the head of the office is the social head of Medan City". Based on the Regional Regulation, one of the social activities that are the duties and responsibilities of the Medan City Social Service is to eradicate the problem of homeless people and beggars.

Policy is a choice by the government to solve public problems. Thus, whatever the government chooses to do or not to carry out an activity can be said to be a form of public policy. After the government establishes policies according to their level, such as the Constitution, Laws, Government Regulations, Regional Regulations, it is necessary to follow up with implementation. At this stage of implementation, it is the duty of the bureaucrats to carry it out.

In relation to the implementation of administrative programs in the field of alleviating street beggars, it is the responsibility of the Medan City Social Service to handle it. Related to these duties and responsibilities, every year the Medan City Social Service gets a distribution of funds which are part of the Medan City Regional Budget in alleviating the problems of street beggars children according to their working areas.

Social welfare services and rehabilitation organized by the Medan City Social Service include administrative services and fostering street children. For this activity from 2016-2020, the amount of available funds can be seen in the Table 5 below.

Table 5. Budget for services and rehabilitation of social welfare in Medan city for 2016-2020

Source: Medan city regional secretariat in 2021 (processed)

The data in the table above shows that the budget for social services and rehabilitation in the city of Medan is still very limited, where one of the service items contained in it is the problem of alleviating street beggars. With the availability of this budget, the guidance and services for street beggar children caught in the raids are still limited, so that not all street children who are caught have the opportunity to receive guidance and be returned to their families. The Social Service only has a halfway house for temporary shelter, while for coaching in the form of skills training for street beggar children it can't be done yet, the Medan City Social Service can do it because the place for coaching is not yet available.

Table 6. Number of street child beggars caught in raids in the maximum age group of 16 years from 2016-2020

Source: Medan city civil service police unit office in 2021 (processed)

Based on the theory of Edward George Tri, a policy program must be implemented in order to have the desired impact or goal. Implementation problems are very complex and implementers are often constrained by methodological considerations. Policy implementation is the stage of policy making between policy formation and policy consequences for the people it affects. If a policy is not appropriate or can not reduce the problem that is the target of the policy, then the policy may fail even if the policy is implemented very well. Meanwhile, a brilliant policy may also fail if the policy is not implemented properly by policy implementers. The number of street beggars caught from 2016-2020 can be seen in the Table 6.

Related to the data above, the number of homeless people and beggars caught each year fluctuates. This is in accordance with the extent of the raid area carried out. Thus, the wider the area or target area that is the place of the raid, usually the more homeless and beggars will be caught in the raid. Regarding the area of the raid that became the target point of the raid, it is tentative. Usually members who carry out raids conduct searches on streets or places that are often used as flats to beg. If they are found, they will be arrested and put them into a closed truck that has been prepared in advance.

2. Role of Government

Handling the exploitation of street beggar children cannot be done substantively in the sense of seeing it from one aspect, but it is necessary to look at it from various aspects such as social, economic and political aspects. Therefore, in handling these problems, it is necessary to involve experts from various fields, including in handling them according to the social problems faced by the street beggars [25]. In connection with the suitability of the policy with the problem of street beggars as a social problem, the fact that the results of the research found indicate that Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2003 concerning the prohibition of homeless people and begging and immoral practices in Medan City has not been able to solve the problem of exploitation of street beggar children in Medan City.

Article 2 paragraph (1) of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 states, "It is forbidden to carry out abduction and begging in groups or individually or in any way by influencing/causing the mercy of others". In reality, the content contained in Article 2 paragraph (1) of the Regional Regulation is not in accordance with the reality in the research location, where street beggars and homeless children beg for motorized vehicle drivers with various modes such as offering products in the form of paper towels. Busking, asking for mercy from others, posing like a silver man, looking and posing like a clown, and asking for sadaqah are still often found in places that are often used as locations for begging in the city of Medan.

The application of criminal sanctions for violators of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 has not been realized as it should be. As stated in Article 5 paragraph (1) of Regional Regulation number 6 of 2003 that, "Whoever violates the provisions of Article 2 of this regional regulation is threatened with imprisonment for a maximum of 6 (six) months and a fine of up to Rp. 5,000,000. (five million rupiahs)". However, in practice, from the results of raids on street beggars conducted by the Medan City Social Service together with the Satpol PP supported by Police officers from the Medan City Poltabes, that those caught were only given socialization for 2 (two) days and a maximum of 4 days at the Social Service Shelter in Pinang Baris.

Therefore, in order for the contents of the Regional Regulation number 6 of 2003 to be in accordance with the handling of the exploitation of street beggar children in the city of Medan, it is necessary to take the Medan City Social Service seriously, which is supported by the Medan City Government to implement the contents of the regulation. Facilities and facilities for fostering street beggar children who are caught in raids are an important solution for providing skills for street beggar children before they are returned to their families [26].

3.2 Policy urgency in handling street beggars

The legal umbrella that regulates the prohibition of exploitation of street beggars in Medan City is contained in Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2003 concerning the Prohibition of Vagrant and Begging and Immoral Practices in Medan City. With this legal umbrella, it should be used as a basis or rule in controlling street beggar children. However, in reality, it cannot be realized because street beggars are increasingly being found in the Medan City area. In carrying out begging activities, the places that are often used are public roads, traffic light intersections, mosque courtyards, pedestrian bridges, city parks. With this phenomenon, local government programs that want to make Medan City a Bestari City, as a cultural tourism destination and government service center will be affected [27].

Chapter II article 2 paragraph (1) of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 explicitly stipulates, "It is forbidden to carry out homelessness and begging in groups or individually or in any way by influencing/causing compassion to others". Based on the research conducted, the contents of Article 2 paragraph (1) of the Regional Regulation are not by the reality in the research location. Street beggars and homeless children who beg motorists in various modes such as offering products in the form of paper towels, singing, asking for mercy from others, posing like a silver man, looking and posing like a clown, and asking for sadaqah are still easy to find. in the city of Medan.

Based on an interview with a 16-year-old street beggar who did not want to be named, on May 29, 2021, he stated, "Every day he does begging activities at the traffic light intersection in the Medan City area. Until now still sitting in high school. Begging is done after school. This activity is carried out with the consent of the parents because the parents cannot afford to pay for school and family needs". The results of this interview show that the child's motive for becoming a street beggar is not because he is lazy but to achieve his higher goals in the future, because he has the desire to take the test to become a policewoman when he finishes high school education.

On holidays, this high school student goes to beg with her mother from early in the morning until 18.00 WIB, while on weekdays because of the obligation to participate in school activities, begging activities are carried out after school activities. In the last 2 (two) years, although school activities are conducted online, begging activities are carried out from noon until 18.00 WIB. This family is domiciled in Medan Amplas District, with the mother's profession as a non-permanent housemaid and the father does not have a permanent job. With such a family life, the income earned from begging is very helpful for the family's finances.

The income earned from begging is around Rp. 40,000 to Rp. 120,000 per day. On holidays, usually, begging activities start in the morning, around Rp.120,000 rupiah can be obtained, while on school days starting in the afternoon, you usually get a minimum income of Rp.40,000. In the last 2 (two) years, the begging activities that have been carried out are no longer directly asking for mercy from benefactors, but are carried out by selling tissue, aqua mineral drinks, cigarettes, beans, and other similar foods. In carrying out this activity, he usually wears a hat, a mask so that people who see him may not know the person concerned while he may know some people who pass by the road area.

In a different case, the author interviewed 12-year-old Dimas, on May 29, 2021, at Sipirok Nauli Bus Station, Amplas Sub-district. He said, "Every day he does the activity of selling crackers, beans, tissue, and other snacks from one place to another. This child peddles his wares from one place to another such as to public transport bus stations, terminals, crowded places and does not do this activity at traffic light red intersections. This activity usually starts from 14.00 WIB to 18.00 WIB.

In carrying out his begging, Dinas was escorted by his father who worked as a rickshaw puller, and his mother as a housewife. From begging activities, a net income of Rp. 40,000 to Rp. 60,000 is usually obtained per day. Dimas, who is still in elementary school grade 5, has a desire to become a police officer, so some of the money he earns from begging is saved and part of it is given to his parents. Dimas, who still has 2 younger siblings, said that his family's economy was greatly helped by the income given to his parents.

The methods used by the Office and high school students as stated above and their friends in the profession in doing begging are quite interesting, for example, wearing Muslim clothes, saying insulting words, and offering their wares politely. In this way, many buyers and philanthropists are affected, so the price of crackers should be Rp. 3,000 to be paid with Rp. 5,000, the price of beans which should be Rp. 1,500 is paid Rp. 2,000, the price of small tissue should be Rp. 3,500 paid with Rp. 5,000. Among the buyers, not a few buy their products while giving sadaqah to children who peddle these products.

According to the agency, the high school student who did not want to be named above and the 8 street beggars whom the author interviewed said, the merchandise they sell is not their own but has been entrusted to someone else. In the afternoon after the activity of selling the product, it will be paid to the owner of the authorized capital according to the previously agreed agreement. On the next day when leaving for the begging location, the goods can be taken back according to the type of goods, the number of goods needed.

Based on an interview with a beggar child who behaves as a clown named Aji said, "He has been working as a beggar by becoming a clown for 1 year, previously begging directly to beggars at the traffic light intersection. This work is usually done from 14.00 WIB to 18.00 WIB. Aji lives with his parents in Sei Mati Village, Medan Maimun District. He is now 13 years old and still in the 1st grade of junior high school. This work was done with the knowledge of his parents. Based on what Aji said, every day he can earn around Rp. 40,000 to Rp. 60,000. Some of the money was saved and some were given to his parents. Little Aji has a dream to become an army soldier".

According to Aji, the clown accessories he used when begging were rented from other people. The amount of rent in one day is around Rp. 40,000 to Rp. 50,000. So they can work together with friends who are in the same profession, for example, Aji is active during the day, and his friends are active in the morning. In this way, the rent of clown clothes can be divided in half so that it is easier to pay it to the owner who rents it. There are about 50 people who are in the same profession as Aji, some are begging at the traffic light intersection and some are also going from house to house. In general, they have a strong desire to get out of poverty.

At several traffic light intersections, many beggars exploit or take advantage of children under five to do begging by cleaning the windshield of the driver's car with a chicken feather rag while holding the toddler. As Daryanto’s words:"exploitation is exploitation, utilization, utilization for own benefit". In this way, not a few of them invite the driver's compassion so they don't hesitate to give some money to the beggar who is carrying the toddler.

According to the Head of the Medan City Social Service, “The practice of begging in the city of Medan is increasing, both involving children under five and being carried out individually due to two factors, namely the presence of people who give and people who receive gifts. So, to break the chain of begging, there must be mutual awareness between the community giving sadaqah and the government that supervises it.”

In a separate interview, the Head of the Social Rehabilitation Division of the Medan City Social Service, Fahrur Rozi Pane, S.Sos, MH stated, "The ways of begging and the life of the homeless in Medan City continue to change according to the times. 10 years ago, the way to beg is usually only by asking for sadaqah from benefactors, then in the last 5 years, a new phenomenon has emerged by selling certain products such as tissue, food, and drinks to buyers. clowns to get money from benefactors".

The practice of begging and the way of the homeless in Medan will of course continue to change according to the dynamics of life they experience. Therefore policies and laws governing the prohibition and sanctions for street beggar children need to be evaluated.

By Winarno [6], "Policy is used to show the behavior of an actor or several actors in a particular field of activity". Policies are set with the aim of overcoming various problems that exist in society. According to Dye [4] "public policy is a choice made by the government to do or not to do something, as it is said: Public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not to do".

Regarding the application of criminal sanctions for violators of the regulations contained in Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003, it is still weak. As stated in Article 5 paragraph (1) of Regional Regulation number 6 of 2003, "Whoever violates the provisions of Article 2 of this regional regulation is threatened with imprisonment for a maximum of 6 (six) months and/or a fine of up to Rp. 5,000,000 (five million rupiahs)". However, in practice from the results of raids conducted by the Medan City Social Service together with the Satpol PP supported by Police officers from the Medan City Poltabes, those caught were only given socialization for 2 (two) days and a maximum of 4 (four) days. day at the Social Service Shelter in Pinang Baris.

3.3 Implementation of the administration and service program for the children of street beggars

The Medan City Social Service is the Technical Implementation Unit of the Medan City Government in the social sector, this is by the mandate contained in Article 1 point (e) of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 concerning, Prohibition of homeless people and begging and the practice of immorality in Medan City, which states "the head of the office is the head of social affairs in the city of Medan". Based on the Regional Regulation, one of the social activities that are the duties and responsibilities of the Medan City Social Service is to eradicate the problem of homeless people and beggars. Thus, the implementation of administrative programs in the field of alleviating street beggars is the responsibility of the Medan City Social Service.

Wahab [25] says, "The focus of attention is on policy implementation, namely events that arise after the ratification of public policy guidelines which include both efforts to administer them and to cause real consequences/impacts on society or events". To make policy implementation effective, by Islamy [5] said divides it into 2 (two) forms: 1) self-executing means that when a policy is formulated/ratified, the policy will be implemented automatically. For example, the recognition of a country against the sovereignty of another country, 2) non-self – Executing, a public policy needs to be realized and implemented by various parties so that the objectives of policymaking can be achieved.

With this responsibility, every year the Medan City Social Service gets a distribution of funds which are part of the Medan City Budget in alleviating the problems of street beggars in their working areas.

Table 7. Budget for services and rehabilitation of social welfare of Medan city for 2016-2020

Source: Medan city regional secretariat in 2021 (processed)

The data in the Table 7 above shows that the budget for social services and rehabilitation in the city of Medan is still very limited, where one of the service items contained in it is the problem of alleviating street beggars. With the availability of this budget, guidance and services for street beggar children caught in raids are still limited, so that not all street children who are caught have the opportunity to receive guidance and be returned to their families.

According to the explanation of Mr. Lamo Lumban Tobing Kasubsie. Social Rehabilitation of the Medan City Social Service that, “The cost of sheltering the children of street beggars caught in the raids is quite large. The cost of eating for 1 person in one day is around Rp. 50,000 per person. If there are 100 people caught, this means that the costs incurred are IDR 5,000,000 (five million rupiahs). Likewise for those who will be returned to their original place. The costs required are following the place of origin, the farther the domicile is, the greater the costs incurred to take him home."

Thus, the implementation of the administrative program set at the political level, namely, through the formulation of the Medan City executive (Mayor) and legislative (DPRD) power holders as outlined in Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2003 concerning, Prohibition of Vagrant and Begging and Immoral Practices, is still far away of what is expected. It seems that it is only a discourse without any maximum effort to make it happen by providing a budget.

Political actors, especially executive power holders and legislative power holders after the promulgation of Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2003 concerning the Prohibition of Homeless and Begging and Immoral Practices, seem not to have serious attention and willingness to follow up. It can be seen that there is no effort to evaluate the policies contained in the Regional Regulation so that its implementation is carried out in place and it is not excessive to say that it is getting left behind compared to the begging practices carried out by street beggars. The legal provisions contained in Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 seem to be a formality, without any genuine intention to implement them.

Regarding the service of street beggars in Medan City, it is not much different from the implementation of administrative programs, the reality is still far from what is expected. As mandated in Article 4 of Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2003 concerning, Prohibition of Homeless and Begging and Immoral Practices, "local governments guide to homeless and beggars and prostitutes in the form of activities that take the form and include other skills and expertise". However, until 18 years of age, the implementation of the Regional Regulation has not been as expected. The performance of the Medan City Government in dealing with the problems of street beggars has not been seen in real terms even though this task has been set at the level of political policy in the form of Regional Regulations.

Based on the author's interview with Mr. Fahrur Rozi Pane, S.Sos, MH at the Medan City Social Service Office on June 21, 2021, an explanation was obtained that, "until 2021 the Medan City Social Service does not have a place for fostering street beggar children. Those caught in raids will be taken to a Shelter House, usually for 2 days. They are given guidance in the form of psychological guidance and spiritual cleansing so that they do not return to the streets to beg, while no skill development is given. However, in reality, after being detained for 2 (two) days in a halfway house, usually the children of street beggars will return to the streets to beg. The Social Service, the Civil Service Police Unit, and the police know this without taking any action, so that the raids carried out involving several government institutions are still a formality. In addition to not having a place for fostering street beggars, the Medan City Social Service also does not have a rehabilitation center for street beggars, and only rides with the Social Pansi owned by the North Sumatra Province Social Service in Binjai City.

According to an interview conducted with Chandra Dalimunte, S.STP, MSP, Head of Public Order and Public Order, the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) of Medan City Monday, June 14 2021 explained, "in the context of creating public order and security in Medan City, Satpol PP always go to the field to carry out orders, including to carry out raids on street beggars in collaboration with the Medan City Social Service”.

On a separate occasion, Irwanto, SE, Head of the Community Potential Development Section, added, "In carrying out raids, especially raids on street beggars, closed trucks will be carried with a carrying capacity of 50 people. In each raid activity, 20 Satpol PP officers will be involved by issuing an assignment order. This raid activity can be carried out on a mobile basis, which means walking along the streets in the city of Medan, then if they find the sprawl, they will be brought under control by arresting them. Usually, in the process of catching the sprawl, there will be a chase because the sprawl will usually avoid being chased. The gepengs caught from the raids will be handed over to the Medan City Social Service.

Table 8. The number of street beggars caught in raids in the maximum age group of 16 years from 2016-2020

source: Medan city civil service police unit office in 2021 (processed)

The number of homeless people and beggars caught each year fluctuates (Table 8). This is by the extent of the raid area carried out. Thus, the wider the area or target area that is the place of the raid, usually the more homeless and beggars will be caught in the raid. Regarding the raid area which is the target point of the raid, it is tentative. Usually, members who carry out raids conduct searches on streets or places that are often used as flats to beg. If they are found, they will be arrested and loaded into a closed truck that has been prepared in advance [28].

In this case, in addition to conducting raids in collaboration with the Medan City Social Service, the Medan City Civil Service Police Unit also carried out raids independently. Raids are carried out independently on the initiative and orders of the leadership. The target point of the raid was not set but was carried out by walking around the city, and if they found the gepeng who were begging, the staff involved in the raid would get out of the car to make arrests and control them.

Based on the researcher's direct experience in this research process, there are some limitations that are experienced and can be a number of factors that can be given more attention to future researchers in further perfecting their research because this research itself is certainly has deficiencies that need to be continuously improved in future studies. Some of the limitations in this study include difficulties in observing the activities of street children and beggars and difficulties in finding the identities of beggars and street children and it takes a long time.