Dirty Broom Theory: A Conceptual Framework for Law Enforcement Integrity

Kurniawan Tri Wibowo

doi:10.15294/ijicle.v8i3.62405

Authors

Kurniawan Tri Wibowo Universitas Amikom Purwokerto Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15294/ijicle.v8i3.62405

Keywords:

Dirty Broom Theory, Integrity of Law Enforcement Officials, Effectiveness of Law Enforcement, Chain of Integrity Principle

Abstract

The integrity of law enforcement officials is fundamental to the effectiveness, fairness, and legitimacy of law enforcement. However, existing legal theories have not adequately conceptualized how integrity violations may contaminate legal procedures and undermine the legitimacy of judicial outcomes. This study aims to examine the normative relationship between official integrity and the legitimacy of law enforcement outcomes, formulate the Dirty Broom Theory as a conceptual framework, and assess its implications for law enforcement reform in Indonesia. This study employs normative legal research using statutory, conceptual, doctrinal, and comparative approaches. Primary and secondary legal materials, including legislation, jurisprudence, legal doctrines, and scholarly literature, are analyzed through systematic legal interpretation. The findings demonstrate that official integrity constitutes an essential condition for maintaining procedural fairness and substantive legitimacy in legal decision-making. The study formulates the Dirty Broom Theory, premised on the proposition that “a dirty broom cannot produce clean justice.” The theory explains that corruption, bribery, evidence manipulation, case fabrication, abuse of authority, conflicts of interest, and other integrity violations can contaminate the law enforcement process and compromise the legitimacy of its outcomes. Furthermore, the Chain of Integrity Principle conceptualizes criminal justice as an interconnected process in which integrity at each stage contributes to the legitimacy of the final decision. The theory provides a conceptual foundation for integrity-based law enforcement reform in Indonesia.

References

Afina, Khalisa Noer. Urgensi Penegakan Hukum Yang Berkeadilan Dalam Konteks Reformasi Indonesia. 14, no. 10 (2025).

Akmal, Diya Ul. “Legal Ideals: Mewujudkan Perlindungan Hukum Dalam Kerangka Negara Hukum.” Esensi Hukum 7, no. 1 (2025): 18–27. https://doi.org/10.35586/esensihukum.v7i1.417.

Aman, Chairul, and Bustomi Bustomi. “Proceedings Before The Police, Prosecutor’s Office, And Court.” Jurnal Abdisci 3, no. 3 (2026): 306–19. https://doi.org/10.62885/abdisci.v3i3.774.

Apaza, Esteban Eustaquio Flores, Manuel Choccelahua Huincho, Job Josue Perez Villanueva, et al. “Judicial Corruption and Public Trust Assessing the Effectiveness of Legal Ethics Reforms in Global Legal Systems.” Journal of Posthumanism 5, no. 6 (2025): 3649–62. https://doi.org/10.63332/joph.v5i6.2499.

Aryadi, G. dan Y.Sri Pudyatmoko ,“Penerapan Kumulasi Sanksi Eksternal Dalam Penegakan Hukum Pidana Korupsi Oleh Pejabat Pemerintahan Di Kabupaten Sleman | Refleksi Hukum: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum.” Accessed August 6, 2026. https://ejournal.uksw.edu/refleksihukum/article/view/2109.

Arvitto, Rafi Satrya. “Implikasi Hukum Deepfake: Telaah Terhadap UU ITE Dan UU PDP.” Jurnal Ilmiah Hukum Dan Hak Asasi Manusia 4, no. 2 (2025): 73–82. https://doi.org/10.35912/jihham.v4i2.3937.

Bam, Dmitry. “Understanding Caperton: Judicial Disqualification Under the Due Process Clause.” McGeorge Law Review 42 (January 2010): 65.

“Corruption Perceptions Index.” Transparency International Indonesia, January 24, 2025. https://ti.or.id/corruption-perceptions-index/.

Couse, Jeffery. “Jackpot: The Hang-up Holding Back the Residual Category of Abuse of Process.” Manitoba Law Journal 40, no. 3 (2017): 165–165. https://doi.org/10.29173/mlj993.

Danardana, A., and Vincentius Patria Setyawan. “Kriminalisasi Fenomena Penyimpangan Sosial Kumpul Kebo (Samenlaven) Dalam Perspektif Hukum Pidana.” Justitia et Pax 38, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.24002/jep.v38i1.5713.

Den Hartog, Deanne N., and Frank D. Belschak. “Work Engagement and Machiavellianism in the Ethical Leadership Process.” Journal of Business Ethics 107, no. 1 (2012): 35–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1296-4.

“Efektivitas Penjatuhan Sanksi Terhadap Pelanggaran Kode Etik Profesi Polri | Indonesian Journal of Legality of Law.” Accessed August 6, 2026. https://journal.unibos.ac.id/ijlf/article/view/6222.

Giappone, Krista Bonello Rutter. “Law as a Game of Chance: Rabelais’ Bridlegoose and DC’s Two-Face.” The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship 12, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.16995/cg.9387.

Goffe, Gavin. “The Formula for Corruption in Construction.” Myers, Fletcher & Gordon, January 11, 2022. https://myersfletcher.com/the-formula-for-corruption-in-construction/.

Gross, Samuel R., Maurice Possley, Ken Otterbourg, Klara Stephens, Jessica Paredes, and Barbara O’Brien. “Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States 2022.” SSRN Electronic Journal, ahead of print, 2022. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4245863.

Gross, Samuel R., Maurice Possley, Ken Otterbourg, Klara Stephens, Jessica Paredes, and Barbara O’Brien. “Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States 2022.” SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 4245863. Social Science Research Network, September 23, 2022. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4245863.

Guggenheim, Martin, and Randy Hertz. “Selling Kids Short: How ‘Rights for Kids’ Turned Into ‘Kids for Cash.’” Temple Law Review 88 (January 2016): 653.

Hadjon, Philipus M. Integritas dalam Penyelenggaraan Pemerintahan. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press, 2017.

Hidayati, Nur, Anny Wahyuni, and Budi Purnomo. “Jendral Hoegeng Imam Santoso: Kapolri Jujur, Disiplin Dan Sederhana Sebagai Teladan Generasi Muda.” Swadesi: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Ilmu Sejarah 2, no. 1 (2021): 25–37. https://doi.org/10.26418/swadesi.v2i1.45819.

Jackson, Jonathan, Muhammad Asif, Ben Bradford, and Muhammad Zakar. “Corruption and Police Legitimacy in Lahore, Pakistan.” SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 2421036. Social Science Research Network, April 6, 2014. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2421036.

Jawa, Dominikus, Parningotan Malau, and Ciptono Ciptono. “Tantangan Dalam Penegakan Hukum Tindak Pidana Korupsi Di Indonesia.” JURNAL USM LAW REVIEW 7, no. 2 (2024): 1006–17. https://doi.org/10.26623/julr.v7i2.9507.

Jones, Cynthia. “A Reason to Doubt: The Suppression of Evidence and the Inference of Innocence.” Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals 100, no. 2 (2010). https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/916.

Kaplan, Paul J. “Looking Through the Gaps: A Critical Approach to the LAPD’s Rampart Scandal.” Social Justice 36, no. 1 (2009): 61–81.

Kmiecik, Bartlomiej. “Understanding Changes in Corruption In The Chicago Police Department.” Thesis, University of Illinois Chicago, 2016. https://indigo.uic.edu/articles/thesis/Understanding_Changes_in_Corruption_In_The_Chicago_Police_Department/10784141/1.

Lasthuizen, Karin, Leo Huberts, and Leonie Heres. “How to Measure Integrity Violations: Towards a Validated Typology of Unethical Behavior.” Public Management Review 13, no. 3 (2011): 383–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2011.553267.

Law Enforcement Ethics and Morality Contribution in Reducing the Culture of Corruption. n.d. Accessed August 6, 2026. https://ijssers.org/single-view/.

M. Ainun Najib. “Menyoal Asas Equality Before the Law dalam Realitas Peradilan di Indonesia melalui Perspektif Hukum Islam.” Jurnal Humaya: Jurnal Hukum, Humaniora, Masyarakat, dan Budaya 3, no. 2 (2023): 139–51. https://doi.org/10.33830/humaya.v3i2.5291.

Manik, Toba Sastrawan, and Sunarso Sunarso. “Death Penalty for Corruptors: Between the Human Rights and Challenges of Progress in Indonesian Law.” Fiat Justisia: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum 14, no. 3 (2020): 233–46. https://doi.org/10.25041/fiatjustisia.v14no3.1773.

“Navigating the Looking Glass: Severing the Lawyer’s Head in Arkham Asylum: Griffith Law Review: Vol 24 , No 3 - Get Access.” Accessed August 6, 2026. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10383441.2015.1119777.

Neocleous, Mark. “The Monster and the Police: Dexter to Hobbes.” Radical Philosophy, no. 185 (2014). https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/article/the-monster-and-the-police.

“New Oxford American Dictionary - Oxford Reference.” Accessed August 6, 2026. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195392883.001.0001/acref-9780195392883.

Palanski, Michael E., and Francis J. Yammarino. “Integrity and Leadership:” European Management Journal 25, no. 3 (2007): 171–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2007.04.006.

Palmer, Betsy. The Role of the House of Representatives in Judicial Impeachment Proceedings: Procedure, Practice, and Data. n.d.

Peters, Timothy D. “The Superhero ‘Made Strange’: A Christological Reading of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.” In A Theological Jurisprudence of Speculative Cinema: Superheroes, Science Fictions and Fantasies of Modern Law, edited by Timothy Peters. Edinburgh University Press, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9781474424004.003.0004.

Reiling, Dory. Technology for Justice. How Information Technology Can Support Judicial Reform | Scholarly Publications. n.d. Accessed August 6, 2026. https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/21365.

Rivers, Davey. “Official Misconduct in Exoneration Cases Prior to 1989.” Criminal Justice Sciences, April 1, 2020. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/urscjs/1.

Subroto, Wandi, Sunarko, Martanti Endah Lestari, and Rahmawati. “Dinamika Penegakan Hukum Di Indonesia: Antara Keadilan Substantif Dan Formalitas Prosedural.” Jurnal Abdimas Peradaban 5, no. 1 (2024): 77–86. https://doi.org/10.54783/354f6340.

“The Construction Law System and Purification of Limitation from Bawaslu’s Authority | Mustakim | JURNAL AKTA.” Accessed August 6, 2026. https://jurnal.unissula.ac.id/index.php/akta/article/view/20645.

Turković, Emil. “A New Function Of Prison Industry And Private Prisons In Developed Countries, And The Possibility Of Their Implementation In The Republic Of Serbia.” Facta Universitatis, Series: Law and Politics, December 28, 2017, 347. https://doi.org/10.22190/FULP1704347T.

Vidyapramatya, Nurindria Naharista. “Hilangnya Keadilan Dalam Penegakan Hukum Menurut Teori Diskriminasi.” Jurnal Hukum Dan Pembangunan Ekonomi 8, no. 2 (2020): 141–55. https://doi.org/10.20961/hpe.v8i2.49763.

Widianto, Donny, and Azis Budianto. Reforming the Limits of Discretion and Strengthening the Police Code of Ethics in Achieving Justice in Law Enforcement | Jurnal Impresi Indonesia. December 20, 2024. https://jii.rivierapublishing.id/index.php/jii/article/view/5731.

Widyastuti, Anastasia Reni. “Disfungsionalisasi Birokrasi Sebagai Kendala Dalam Pemberantasan Korupsi.” Yustisia 4, no. 3 (2015): 683–99. https://doi.org/10.20961/yustisia.v4i3.8700.

Yep, Ray. “The Crusade against Corruption in Hong Kong in the 1970s: Governor MacLehose as a Zealous Reformer or Reluctant Hero?” China Information 27, no. 2 (2013): 197–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/0920203X13482244.

Zakirai@Zakaria, Norlida, Idris Osman, Shereen Noranee, and Siti Norashikin Bashirun. “Does Organizational Culture Influence Police Integrity? A Scoping Review.” European Proceedings of Finance and Economics Accelerating Transformation towards Sustainable and Resilient Business: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Crisis (August 2023). https://doi.org/10.15405/epfe.23081.66.

“Zamir.” Regional Law Review, n.d. Accessed August 6, 2026. http://rlr.iup.rs/archives/year-2022/zamir/.