Seoul Police "Focus on Strengthening Response to Stalking Crime Scenes... Early Warning System in Final Stage"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Regarding the controversy over the police's inadequate response in the stalking murder case in Jung-gu, Seoul, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which formed the 'Stalking Crime Response Improvement Task Force (TF),' announced that it plans to soon introduce a system focused on strengthening on-site response to deal with stalking crimes.

On the 6th, at a press briefing held at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Naejadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Chief Choi Kwan-ho said, "The current TF is focusing on maximizing on-site response capabilities," adding, "We plan to equip a crisis monitoring system in response to the (stalking murder) incident."

He continued, "Once the system is installed, responses will be made according to the severity and risk level of the case. Not only the police officers dispatched on-site but also the chief and department heads will promptly respond to important and high-risk cases, and an early warning system that quickly detects such cases will be activated."

Additionally, Chief Choi stated, "The plan is almost ready and in the final stages of preparation," and "We intend to implement it immediately upon announcement." He also said, "We plan to introduce the early warning system not only for stalking crimes but also for crimes against socially vulnerable groups where risk signals can be detected in advance."

Chief Choi further added, "The plan includes operating a dedicated response team for sensitive cases. Instead of responding only in the past with codes 0 to 3, the response team will review the reports again, and if a case is judged to require attention as a sensitive case, additional response measures will be taken."

Earlier, on the 26th of last month, the Seoul Police, chaired by Chief Choi, held a TF meeting to discuss the overall handling of the case, including reception and initial measures, stalking crime response processes, and victim protection measures such as personal safety protection.

At that time, the TF announced plans to introduce an early warning system that allows for careful assessment of the risk level and severity of stalking crimes in the field, enabling appropriate measures at each stage. Through this, they aim to establish judgment criteria and response plans for each stage such as 'interest - caution - alert - serious,' focusing on securing public safety through proactive measures against stalking crimes.

They also stated that comprehensive and specific improvement plans would be prepared for stalking crimes, including processing cases even before victim and suspect investigations.

At the TF meeting held on the 1st of this month, discussions were held regarding the establishment of a dedicated response team for private cases. The dedicated response team will utilize 112 and Abuse Prevention Officers (APO) to check repeated reports and criminal records, and will review even closed cases. Furthermore, the police announced plans to introduce an overlapping inspection system and establish a support system for reception at the regional commander and comprehensive command center.