In early 2025, Indonesian authorities introduced a controversial approach to juvenile delinquency by placing so-called ‘troublesome’ youth into military boot camps for six months of intensive discipline and character education (The Jakarta Post, 2025a, 2025b). Spearheaded by West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi and supported by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the programme targets adolescents engaged in school absenteeism, physical altercations, or other risky behaviours (The Jakarta Post, 2025a, 2025b). Children are removed from their homes and schooling and placed into military barracks designed to enforce obedience and personal responsibility through a regimented routine (The Jakarta Post, 2025a, 2025b). By mid-2025, more than 270 students had been enrolled, and the programme’s scope was, at the time, planned to include adults deemed socially disruptive (France-Presse, 2025; Tempo, 2025).