Police Agency's 3 Years Since Introducing 'Human Rights Impact Assessment'... Driving Human Rights-Centered Police Activities

First Government Agency to Conduct 432 Evaluations
93% Acceptance Rate This Year
Foundation for Human Rights-Friendly System Improvements

Police Agency building.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Police Agency, which was the first government agency to introduce the 'Human Rights Impact Assessment System' in 2018, has conducted over 400 human rights impact assessments within three years of implementing the system and has adopted numerous human rights-friendly policies to protect the rights of the public.

The National Police Agency announced on the 26th that since introducing the Human Rights Impact Assessment System in June 2018, it has conducted a total of 432 assessments, including 401 on laws and regulations and 31 on major policies, up until September this year. Among these, 19 improvement recommendations were made following consultations with the 'National Police Agency Human Rights Committee,' and 51 cases were revised and improved in a human rights-friendly manner through suggestions after evaluation.

The National Police Agency introduced the Human Rights Impact Assessment System as the first government agency to minimize human rights issues in the exercise of police authority, given that police duties inherently have the potential to infringe on citizens' freedoms and rights. The purpose was to preemptively evaluate and resolve human rights infringement factors in laws and policies that form the basis of police officers' field activities.

In the first year of implementation, 2018, only 4 out of 13 cases recommended for improvement or suggestions through the human rights impact assessment were accepted, resulting in an acceptance rate of 31%. However, this rate significantly improved to 58% (15 out of 26) in 2019, 69% (11 out of 16) last year, and 93% (14 out of 15) this year.

In particular, many issues that had been carried out as customary police activities were re-evaluated from a human rights perspective and newly improved in a human rights-friendly manner. Representative examples include the revision of the 'Criminal Investigation Regulations' to prohibit nighttime investigations in principle and allow exceptions only upon the 'request' of the investigation subject, and the improvement of the 'Suspect Detention and Escort Regulations' to restrict the use of handcuffs on suspects who voluntarily attend pre-arrest interrogations (warrant hearings).

Additionally, improvements were made through human rights impact assessments to minimize the risks posed by water cannon vehicles deployed at assembly sites, notify defense attorneys of investigation schedules and case processing results such as warrant hearings, and expand the scope of pseudonymous statements to protect crime victims.

The human rights impact assessment by the police is gaining more attention as police authority expands due to investigative authority reforms and the implementation of the autonomous police system, which decentralizes the police into national police, investigative police, and autonomous police. This serves as the foundation for ensuring that police authority is exercised for the people without abuse.

Kim Chang-ryong, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated, "Through the human rights impact assessment, we have prevented human rights infringement factors across police administration in advance and improved them with a human rights-centered approach, significantly enhancing the level of police human rights." He added, "We will continue to do our best in operating the system to become a human rights police force that prioritizes the human rights of the people."