The Story of How a Nowon-gu CCTV Operator Caught a Pickpocket in 8 Minutes?

June 5 Early Morning CCTV Surveillance Captures and Arrests Pickpocket Thief... Wallet Seen Being Taken from Pocket, Focused Monitoring from Theft to Arrest... Police Called to 112 Comprehensive Situation Room, Rapid Response Leads to On-Site Arrest

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it apprehended a thief known as a ‘support pickpocket’ through CCTV monitoring at the Smart City Integrated Operation Center.

At around 4:28 a.m. on the 5th, a man wearing a black hat and mask approached a man leaning against a streetlight.

The man noticed a phone and coins dropped by what appeared to be a drunk person, picked them up, and returned the items to the left pocket of the man’s pants.

After a brief conversation, 5 seconds later, the CCTV operator at the Nowon-gu Smart City Integrated Operation Center caught the scene where the man took a wallet from the right pocket of the man’s pants and put it into his own pocket.

The operator suspected he was a thief but considered that they might be acquaintances from the neighborhood, so decided to observe a little longer with the police stationed at the center.

The man who stole the wallet linked arms with the other man as if to help him catch a taxi, and the man who had his belongings returned refused to take the taxi, thanked him, and they parted ways after 2 minutes.

At 4:30 a.m., after parting, they walked in opposite directions, and the thief was caught on CCTV immediately counting the money in the stolen wallet.

At that moment, the operator and the stationed police officer, certain it was a support pickpocketing, immediately contacted the police station’s 112 comprehensive situation room and the nearby Wolgye Police Substation to request patrol car dispatch.

Unaware of the police dispatch, the thief put the stolen money into his pocket, walked about 20 meters, then counted the stolen money again and made a phone call, all captured on CCTV.

Six minutes later, police who responded immediately after the call dispatched three vehicles to the crime scene and arrested the thief, Mr. Kim (in his 40s), in the act.

The decisive role in apprehending this thief was played by an operator who has been working at the center since January 2014. Despite the decreased concentration during early morning hours, the operator’s extensive monitoring experience enabled them to track the theft scene and the thief’s movement path via CCTV, playing a crucial role in the arrest.

This operator received the Mayor’s Commendation for Excellent Operator in 2018 and was selected as an outstanding participant in joint civil-military monitoring activities in 2019, receiving a commendation from the commander of the 223rd Infantry Regiment.

Also, the systematic cooperation among the stationed police officer at the monitoring center, the police station, and the police substation contributed to the theft being detected and the thief apprehended within just 8 minutes.

The Nowon Smart City Integrated Operation Center, opened in 2011, has especially shone this year in catching criminals. In January, it achieved the nation’s first success by capturing a marijuana transaction scene through crime prevention CCTV monitoring and arresting the suspect on the spot. In April, it caught and apprehended four teenagers who stole motorcycles on CCTV.

Through this dense safety network, the number of major five crimes (murder, robbery, rape/sexual assault, theft, violence) in Nowon-gu decreased by about 26%, from 5,312 cases in 2014 to 3,935 cases in 2019.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “The CCTV monitoring center plays a pivotal role in crime prevention and rapid response to incidents, protecting the lives and safety of residents,” adding, “We will do our best to create a safe neighborhood where all residents can live comfortably through facility and personnel support for crime prevention.”

The center has also caught five men and women in 2018 who attempted theft by unlocking bicycle locks, starting from apprehending a motorcycle thief and a street murder suspect in 2014.

In 2019, the center caught suspects who broke convenience store glass and stole safes, as well as package thieves, and even detected drunk driving vehicles via CCTV.

Thanks to these achievements, the center was selected as the “Best CCTV Monitoring Center of the Second Half of 2018” by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. From last year to this year, the center has recorded a total of 13,534 cases of arrests and preemptive prevention by detecting violent crimes, minor offenses, wanted and suspicious vehicles, among others.

Currently, Nowon-gu has a total of 1,990 CCTVs installed around schools, school routes, and parks. The center operates 24/7 with four police officers dispatched from Nowon Police Station and 16 monitoring operators working in four shifts, monitoring real-time CCTV footage to promptly resolve various incidents and accidents occurring in the area.