Introduction

Traffic law enforcement is a tangible manifestation of the state's presence in maintaining public order, community safety, and legal certainty on the roads.[1] Amid the rapid flow of population mobility and advancements in information technology, the legal system in Indonesia is required to adapt to social changes and the behavioral patterns of road users.[2] In this context, the Indonesian National Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 on the Enforcement of Traffic and Road Transportation Violations Based on Electronic Recording Evidence (E-Tilang) was enacted as a form of law enforcement modernization that is more efficient, transparent, and accountable. This regulation marks a new chapter in the transformation of traffic law towards a digital system in line with the principles of good governance and technology-based public services.[3] From a legal perspective, the regulation is an implementation of Article 272 of Law Number 22 of 2009 concerning Traffic and Road Transportation, which legitimizes the use of electronic devices as evidence in traffic violation enforcement.[4] These provisions are reinforced by the recognition of electronic evidence as regulated in Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE Law). Thus, the e-ticketing system becomes a manifestation of the principles of lex certa and legality, which asserts that every law enforcement action must be based on clear, certain, and accountable legal norms.[5]

However, the effectiveness of implementing e-ticketing does not only depend on technological sophistication, but also on legal certainty, the professionalism of law enforcement officers, and public legal awareness.[6] In practice, various obstacles are still found, such as the public's low understanding of e-ticketing procedures, differences in interpretation regarding the validity of electronic evidence, and limitations in legal infrastructure in the regions, including within the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police.[7] This situation raises a fundamental question: to what extent has Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 effectively achieved the legal objectives that are just, beneficial, and acceptable to road users?[8] According to the legal effectiveness theory proposed by Soerjono Soekanto [9], the validity of a regulation is not only assessed from its formal aspects but also from the extent to which the regulation can govern the behavior of society in accordance with the purpose of the law. Legal effectiveness can only be achieved if there is harmony between norms, law enforcement officers, and society as legal subjects. In the context of modern law, Satjipto Rahardjo emphasizing the importance of laws that are responsive to social dynamics and technological developments, so that the law does not lose its human aspect in the enforcement process.[8]

The implementation of e-ticketing in the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police is a concrete example of the meeting between national legal norms and social dynamics at the local level.[10] Pasuruan Regency, with a socially and geographically diverse community, reflects particular challenges in implementing technology-based law. The e-ticketing system faces obstacles such as disparities in the public's digital literacy, limited supporting infrastructure, and social resistance to changes in conventional law enforcement mechanisms.[11] Therefore, studying the effectiveness of e-ticketing in this jurisdiction is important not only to evaluate the performance of the police, but also to understand how the law operates in a society that is transforming towards the digital era.[12]

From a regulatory perspective, Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 has provided a comprehensive legal basis regarding enforcement procedures, the validity of evidence, and the mechanism for paying electronic traffic fines.[13] However, the effectiveness of its implementation also largely depends on the harmonization between law enforcement agencies, such as the police, the prosecution, and the courts. As stated by Mertokusumo, law should be viewed as a system consisting of three main elements: norms, structure, and legal culture.[14] Imbalance among these three elements will cause the law to not function optimally in society. In addition, the level of public legal awareness becomes a determining factor in the success of the e-ticketing system. According to Soerjono Soekanto, public legal awareness is the main foundation for the effectiveness of the law. Low levels of public trust in electronic evidence often lead to social resistance and misunderstandings regarding the legitimacy of the e-ticketing system.[9] However, normatively, this system still adheres to the principles of due process of law and the presumption of innocence as regulated in criminal procedure law.[15]

Based on this background, this study arises from the need to examine the effectiveness of Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 from a normative juridical perspective by placing the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police as the locus of analysis. The research approach is carried out through a review of legislation, legal effectiveness theory, and the concept of technology-based law enforcement. This study is expected to provide theoretical and practical contributions to the development of a modern, fair traffic law system oriented toward public interest, so that the law functions not only as a tool of social control but also as a means of social engineering that is humane and adaptive to the progress of the times.

Method

The type of research method used in this study is normative juridical, which is a legal research method that focuses on the study of positive legal norms, legal principles, and legal doctrines relevant to the research topic.[16] This approach is intended to examine and understand how legal norms are constructed, interpreted, and operationalized within the national legal system, particularly concerning the effectiveness of the implementation of Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 on the Enforcement of Traffic and Road Transport Violations Based on Electronic Recording Evidence (E-Ticketing) in the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police Resort.[17] Thus, this study does not focus on the collection of empirical data, but rather on a normative analysis of the validity, certainty, and usefulness of the legal norms underlying the implementation of e-ticketing.[18] This normative juridical research aims to assess the extent to which Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 has fulfilled the principle of legal effectiveness as put forward by Soerjono Soekanto, namely to what extent a legal norm can ideally apply and be obeyed by society.[9] In addition, this study also examines the conformity of e-ticketing regulations with the principles of legality, legal certainty, and usefulness, which form the basis of administrative law and traffic criminal law in Indonesia.[19] Through this approach, it is hoped that a balance point can be found between legal theory and the practice of technology-based law enforcement applied at the regional level.

The approaches used in this study include the legislative approach (statute approach), the conceptual approach (conceptual approach), and the case approach (case approach). The legislative approach is used to examine various legal provisions that form the basis for the implementation of the e-ticketing system, such as Law Number 22 of 2009 concerning Traffic and Road Transport, Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE Law), as well as Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 as the implementing regulation. The conceptual approach is used to explore the legal principles underlying the application of technology in law enforcement, including the principle of due process of law, the principle of proportionality, as well as the principles of legal certainty and justice.[12] Meanwhile, a case-based approach is used to examine the practice of implementing electronic law enforcement systems in several other jurisdictions for comparison, so that a normative picture can be obtained regarding the potential effectiveness as well as the possible obstacles in the implementation of the e-ticketing system in the legal jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police.[14]

The subjects of study in this research include legal norms regulating the procedures for handling traffic violations based on electronic evidence, the doctrine of legal effectiveness, as well as concepts of administrative law and procedural law relevant to traffic law enforcement. The primary legal materials used consist of applicable legislation; secondary legal materials include textbooks, scientific journals, previous research results, and relevant academic articles; whereas tertiary legal materials consist of legal dictionaries, legal encyclopedias, and administrative documents that support the analysis.[5] The technique for collecting legal materials is conducted through library research by tracing and reviewing various legal literature relevant to the research theme. The analysis of legal materials is carried out descriptively-analytically, namely by explaining, comparing, and interpreting legal norms and theories found, and then linking them to the concept of law enforcement effectiveness according to Soerjono Soekanto. The aim of this analysis is to find the conformity between positive law and the theory of law effectiveness in the context of the implementation of electronic traffic tickets (e-tilang) in the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police.[8]

Although this study is normative in nature and does not use an empirical approach, the social context and local dynamics in Pasuruan Regency are still considered as external factors that can influence the implementation of legal norms. This aligns with Satjipto Rahardjo's view that law never exists in a vacuum, but always interacts with the social reality surrounding it. Therefore, this study is not only descriptive-normative, but also prescriptive, providing normative recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness of the e-ticketing system as a form of modern, transparent, and equitable law enforcement.[8] Through this comprehensive normative juridical approach, the research is expected to provide a theoretical contribution to the development of traffic law in Indonesia as well as serve as a practical foundation for the Indonesian National Police in consistently implementing the e-ticketing system in accordance with the principles of a rechtsstaat, where law is placed as the commander and technology functions as an instrument that strengthens legitimacy and public trust in law enforcement in the digital era.

Results and Discussion

A. Effectiveness of Law and Challenges of E-Ticketing Implementation in Pasuruan Regency

The implementation of the Electronic Traffic Law Enforcement (e-tilang) system in the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police reflects a new chapter in the history of technologically-based traffic law enforcement. This program is not merely a form of police bureaucracy modernization but a test for the legal system to affirm its relevance amid the digital transformation that changes the way humans interact with the law itself. In the context of good governance, e-tilang is an instrument that upholds three fundamental principles of modern bureaucracy: efficiency, accountability, and transparency. These values are actually in line with the divine message in QS. An-Nisa [4]:58, "Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and (to judge) with justice when you judge between people."

Normatively, electronic traffic tickets have a strong legal basis within the national legal system. Article 272 of Law Number 22 of 2009 concerning Traffic and Road Transportation provides legitimacy for the use of electronic devices in law enforcement, reinforced by Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE), which establishes that electronic evidence is a valid form of evidence in court.[20] Furthermore, the Regulation of the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia Number 2 of 2025 concerning the Enforcement of Traffic Violations Electronically emphasizes the technical and administrative aspects of the implementation of this system.[21] Therefore, in substance, the law has fulfilled the elements of lex scripta (written law) and lex certa (clear law). However, as stated by Soerjono Soekanto, the effectiveness of the law does not only depend on its normative strength but also on the harmony between the substance of the law, the structure of the law, and legal culture. If any of these elements weakens, the law loses its vitality as a dynamic social system.18]

Based on the review of police documents and the implementation reports of e-ticketing within the Pasuruan Regency Police Department, it was found that the implementation of this system still faces several structural challenges.[22] Technology infrastructure, such as surveillance cameras (CCTV) and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems, has only reached a small portion of areas, mainly on national and provincial roads passing through Gempol, Bangil, and Beji. Meanwhile, secondary roads in rural areas such as Grati, Gondangwetan, or Winongan are still unmonitored. System integration between the police, prosecutors, courts, and fine payment partners (Bank BRI) is also not yet fully synchronized, causing delays in violation confirmation processes. Public outreach has also been uneven, especially in areas with limited internet access.[23]

These factors show that the digitalization of law often progresses faster than the social and institutional readiness that supports it. Within the framework of Lawrence M. Friedman's theory, the effectiveness of law depends on the interaction between three components: legal structure (law enforcement apparatus), legal substance (regulatory substance), and legal culture (public legal awareness).[24] When technology replaces some human functions, what is required is not only hardware renewal but also a renewal of awareness. As emphasized by Imam Al-Ghazali, "Justice is the foundation upon which the world stands; if it wavers, the human order collapses." Therefore, a fair legal system requires a balance between definite norms and social behavior that understands their meaning. To clarify the connection between these elements, the following presents a triadic analysis of the effectiveness of e-ticketing law in the jurisdiction of Pasuruan Regency Police Department:

[ Table 1 . about here]

From the table, it can be concluded that the main issue affecting the effectiveness of electronic traffic tickets (e-tilang) in Pasuruan Regency does not lie in regulatory weaknesses, but rather in structural imbalances and the low legal culture among the community. For some rural residents, law enforcement based on cameras is perceived as enforcement without dialogue, without the presence of a person who can provide explanations or a space for clarification. The absence of this social interaction creates a psychological distance between the authorities and the citizens, which in turn reduces the sense of moral responsibility towards traffic regulations. This aligns with the research findings of Rohman in Yogyakarta and Surabaya, which show that public acceptance of e-tilang is directly related to digital literacy and trust in legal institutions.[25] In Pasuruan Regency, socio-economic and geographic factors reinforce these challenges. Many residents do not yet have stable internet access, while violation confirmation letters sent by mail often do not reach their intended addresses. This situation causes misunderstandings, as if the e-ticketing system only benefits the state through fines rather than educating the public towards traffic discipline.

In fact, philosophically and morally, the law should serve as a means of social education, not merely as a mechanism for punishment.[26] In Islamic perspective, law enforcement is part of tazkiyah al-nafs – the effort to purify oneself and society. Traffic discipline is not only an administrative obligation but also part of safeguarding human life (hifz al-nafs) and maintaining social order, which is a prerequisite for the presence of justice.[27] Therefore, the effectiveness of electronic traffic tickets cannot be measured solely by the number of violations caught on camera, but by the extent to which it fosters collective awareness that traffic discipline is a form of moral responsibility to God and fellow humans. Thus, the effectiveness of implementing Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 in Pasuruan Regency depends on the balance between legal norms, infrastructure readiness, and social awareness. A modern legal system that integrates technology must still be based on the values of substantive justice. For law that is only strong on paper, without being understood by the hearts of the people, is merely a symbol that has lost its spirit. Cross-agency synergy, increased digital legal literacy, and a humanistic approach in socialization are needed so that the law does not stop as a regulation, but lives as a moral awareness guiding society toward order and collective safety.[28]

B. Between Efficiency and Justice

The implementation of the Electronic Traffic Law Enforcement (e-tilang) system in the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police brings two faces of legal modernity: administrative efficiency and challenges of substantive justice. On one hand, the application of e-tilang has proven effective in curbing illegal levies (extortion) that have long been a latent problem in conventional traffic violation enforcement. The digital system closes the space for personal negotiation between offenders and officers, thereby strengthening legal transparency and accountability. However, on the other hand, a new issue arises: how to ensure that the principle of due process of law is maintained in a system that is almost entirely automated?[29] Not all residents of Pasuruan Regency have adequate digital skills to carry out defense or file objections online, especially in rural areas such as Lekok, Winongan, Rejoso, or Purwosari. In many cases, violators do not even know that they have been recorded as breaking the law because the confirmation letter did not arrive, or because they do not understand the online checking mechanism through the official ETLE website. This situation creates procedural gaps that could potentially reduce the sense of justice. The speed of law enforcement without guaranteed accessibility of procedures actually risks negating the essence of justice itself.[30]

As reminded by Satjipto Rahardjo, "Good law is not only what is written on paper, but what lives in the consciousness of the community."[8] In other words, the effectiveness of e-ticketing cannot be measured solely by how many violations are successfully penalized or how quickly fines are paid, but by the extent to which the public feels treated fairly and has equal access to legal mechanisms. When legal technology does not communicate in the social language of its citizens, it loses the educational and moral functions that should inherently accompany law enforcement.[31] In the context of Pasuruan Regency, which is heterogeneous consisting of industrial areas in Gempol and Beji, as well as agrarian areas in Tosari and Lumbang, the implementation of e-ticketing faces challenges in equitable access and understanding. Therefore, the effectiveness of e-ticketing should be evaluated through five evaluative dimensions: public transparency, procedural accountability, social participation, distributive justice, and law enforcement effectiveness.

[Table 2. about here]

If the five dimensions above are visualized conceptually, their proportions can be described as follows: First, Public Transparency - 25% Represents efforts to make data and legal processes open to the public. The color green symbolizes hope, but its realization is only halfway. Second, Procedural Accountability - 20% Represents institutional responsibility and willingness to be open to public correction. The color blue indicates stability, but its share is still small because the digital appeal mechanism is not yet effective. Third, Social Participation - 15% The color orange illustrates public energy that has not been fully channeled. The community is not yet fully involved in legal dialogue, although the spirit of participation is beginning to grow among youth and rider communities. Fourth, Distributional Justice - 20% The color purple signifies fairness and equality. However, ETLE infrastructure is still uneven between the central and peripheral areas of Pasuruan Regency, so the sense of justice is not yet evenly distributed. Fifth, Enforcement Effectiveness - 20% The red color symbolizes legal firmness. Formally, the system has successfully reduced illegal levies, but minor violations (such as not wearing a helmet on village roads) remain high due to limited public legal education.

From these proportions, it can be seen that the e-ticketing system in Pasuruan Regency stands out more in terms of formal transparency and administrative enforcement (total 45%), while social participation and justice equity are still below 40%. The rest is a gray area indicating that inter-agency synchronization is not yet optimal and that a digital legal culture has not yet developed at the grassroots level. The meaning of this diagram is not merely statistical, but a reflection on the classic dilemma of modern law: between efficiency and justice. An efficient system is not necessarily just, and a just system is not always efficient. Technology can accelerate legal processes, but it often cannot humanize the law. This is the main challenge of modernizing law enforcement in Pasuruan Regency: how to present digital law that still has a social spirit.

Pasuruan Regency shows an interesting dynamic: the police have implemented electronic legal procedures according to regulations, yet some members of the public are still seeking the moral and dialogical dimensions of the law itself. Substantive justice emerges only when the law can speak in the social language of its society, not just through electronic notifications. Public trust becomes the “main currency” in digital legal governance. Without trust, no matter how sophisticated the system, it will end up as an empty formality. Therefore, future legal development is not enough by simply adding more surveillance cameras; what is far more important is expanding legal literacy, instilling social ethical values, and cultivating empathy among citizens and law enforcement officers. As Aristotle wrote in Nicomachean Ethics, 'Justice is the perfect virtue, because it practices goodness toward others.' Thus, the ideal e-ticketing system is not one that intimidates violators with technology, but one that educates citizens to obey because they understand the meaning of order, not out of fear of punishment. At this point, between efficiency and justice, the law rediscovers its humanity.

C. Law, Technology, and New Awareness

The implementation of the Electronic Traffic Law Enforcement (E-Tilang) system in the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police represents a new chapter in the transformation of Indonesian law. Law is no longer merely text on paper, but an intelligent system operating through cameras, algorithms, and digital databases. Yet behind its sophistication lies a much deeper philosophical question: can the speed and efficiency of technology replace the substantive justice, the true spirit of the law itself? Pasuruan Regency has a complex social landscape. On one hand, there are industrial and commercial areas in Gempol, Beji, and Bangil; on the other hand, there are agrarian and mountainous regions such as Lumbang, Tutur, and Tosari. Herein lies the uniqueness of digital legal issues: how a nationally uniform system should confront the locally diverse social realities.

The e-ticketing system, which has been gradually implemented since the end of 2024, indeed brings great hopes: to curb extortion practices, strengthen legal transparency, and instill a culture of traffic discipline. However, at the village community level, acceptance of this system has not been entirely uniform. Many residents still consider camera-based violation evidence as something "abstract," because they are accustomed to a legal process where officers directly give warnings, the traffic ticket is handed over, and the fine is paid on the spot. Some residents also experience confusion when receiving ETLE confirmation letters, especially those without internet access or not used to using digital devices. In some rural sub-districts, the understanding that e-tilang is not just a “violation-catching camera,” but an official state legal instrument, is still limited. As a result, there is a gap in legal understanding between urban and rural communities between digital law that operates automatically and social law that is still based on face-to-face interactions.

This aligns with Mochtar Kusumaatmadja's view that law is an instrument for societal reform.[32] However, the reform will only succeed if society can accept and understand the new norms as part of their awareness. In Pasuruan Regency, electronic ticketing (e-tilang) has not entirely become a living law that exists within social consciousness. It is still struggling to find its place between the normative world and local culture. In this context, the success of e-tilang cannot be measured solely from an administrative perspective, such as the number of violations addressed or the speed of fine payments, but rather from how well village residents understand that justice now also exists in a digital form. When the law transforms into an electronic system, its enforcement requires not only networks of cameras and servers but also networks of awareness that grow in the hearts of the community.

[ Table 3 . about here]

From the table, it can be seen that the effectiveness of e-ticketing in Pasuruan Regency is not only a matter of legal tools but also a matter of social awareness. Cameras and algorithms can record mistakes, but they cannot cultivate awareness. Legal awareness grows through education, habituation, and the presence of the state's morality within society. Law & Regulation = 70%, Technology & Infrastructure = 40%, Legal Awareness = 45%, Justice & Enforcement Ethics = 35% The illustration above shows that the strength of the formal legal system in Pasuruan Regency is quite established, but it still faces challenges in social and technological aspects. The higher the digital literacy gap, the wider the gap between the expected justice and the perceived justice. Dalam kerangka hukum progresif sebagaimana ditegaskan oleh Satjipto Rahardjo (2018), Law must have a human face. “A good law,” he writes, “is not only what is written on paper, but what lives in the consciousness of society.” Thus, the modernization of law through ETLE in Pasuruan Regency must be accompanied by the modernization of awareness: building the understanding that digital law is not the enemy of village communities, but a means of learning towards fair order. In Islam, Allah says in QS. An-Nahl [16]:90, “Indeed, Allah commands (you) to act justly and do good...”This verse emphasizes that justice is not only derived from texts, but also from the awareness to uphold goodness. Smart digital law without social justice will only become a cold mechanism. However, when technology is combined with empathy, education, and moral awareness, it becomes an instrument for societal reformation through the path of civilized justice. Thus, e-ticketing in Pasuruan Regency is not merely a law enforcement program, but a milestone toward a living and educational law: a law that not only punishes but also fosters awareness.

Conclusion

The transformation of digital law through the implementation of Electronic Traffic Law Enforcement (ETLE) in the jurisdiction of the Pasuruan Regency Police demonstrates that the modernization of law enforcement is not merely a matter of technology, but rather a reflection of how the law adapts to the social and moral consciousness of its community. Research results show that the normative strength of Police Regulation Number 2 of 2025 has provided clear legal legitimacy for the use of electronic evidence in traffic violation enforcement. However, its effectiveness at the local level is still influenced by infrastructure limitations, digital literacy gaps, and cultural resistance of the community towards technology-based legal systems. Nevertheless, the data indicates increased public legal awareness and significant improvement in law enforcement ethics, indicating a shift towards a more transparent and accountable legal system. Thus, the success of e-ticketing in Pasuruan Regency is not only measured by the speed of the system or the number of violations enforced, but by its ability to foster substantive justice and public trust in digital law. Intelligent law is not sufficient if it is merely data-driven; it must be humane, grounded in morality, justice, and social wisdom. As Allah says in QS. An-Nahl [16]:90, 'Indeed, Allah commands you to be just and do good,' the essence of enforcing digital law is to realize justice that is not only seen on the screen but also felt in the hearts of the community.