Seoul Residential Intrusion Crimes Decreased by 40%... Police Comprehensive Security Plan Achievements

659 Cases of Residential Intrusion Crimes from March to May
Decrease Compared to 1,079 Cases in the Same Period Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Residential intrusion crimes in the Seoul area have decreased by nearly 40%. This is analyzed as the effect of the comprehensive security plan implemented by the police since March this year.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 17th that as a result of implementing the ‘Seoul Residential Safety Comprehensive Security Plan’ promoted alongside the introduction of the autonomous police system, the number of residential intrusion crimes from March to May this year was 659 cases, a 38.9% decrease compared to the same period last year (1,079 cases).

This plan was prepared to establish a dense social safety net where citizens can live with peace of mind, as residential intrusion crimes surged recently due to the increase in single-woman households.

First, 51 areas with a high concentration of single-woman households within the jurisdiction of 31 police stations were selected as ‘Residential Safety Zones,’ and crime prevention environment improvement projects have been carried out. The Crime Prevention Officer (CPO) team regularly diagnoses various crime vulnerability factors according to the characteristics of each area, such as university districts or one-room apartment neighborhoods, and based on this, a total budget of 10.4 billion KRW has been invested to carry out 86 environmental improvement projects across Seoul to prevent residential intrusion.

Additionally, as anxiety about crimes against women, including recent stalking incidents, has increased, a ‘Comprehensive Measures to Strengthen Response to Crimes Against Women around Women’s Universities’ was established and is being implemented in connection with the comprehensive plan. Security statistics near seven major women’s universities, including Ewha Womans University and Sookmyung Women’s University, are analyzed to carry out environmental improvements, visible patrol reinforcement, establishment of an initial response system for crimes against women, and victim protection activities.

Furthermore, the police are jointly implementing various key policies to create a safe Seoul by sharing information and administrative capabilities with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. For example, crime analysis data from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is provided to Seoul’s ‘Single-Woman Household Safety Support Project,’ and the ‘Safe Village Security Guard Project,’ which deploys security guards during late-night hours in residential safety zones to carry out various crime prevention activities, is also being promoted.

Jang Ha-yeon, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, emphasized, “Since it is very difficult to recover from damage after a crime occurs, prevention is most important. We expect Seoul to take a step forward as the safest city through this comprehensive plan, and we will closely cooperate with the Seoul Metropolitan Government with citizen safety as the top priority in line with the implementation of the autonomous police system.”