Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station Leads Efforts to Prevent Juvenile Delinquency

A police officer from the Women and Youth Division of Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju is focusing on building rapport with teenagers at the scene on the 24th. Photo by Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Junho] The Women and Youth Division of Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju recently announced on the 25th that it conducted youth delinquency prevention and guidance activities.

This activity was carried out in the Suwan district of Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, in celebration of Youth Month in May.

To create a safe and healthy social environment for youth, outreach efforts were made to discover at-risk youth outside of school and home, protect socially vulnerable groups, and review harmful environments, thereby conducting youth delinquency prevention and guidance activities.

This outreach activity was prompted by the significant increase in unmanned stores after COVID-19, which, lacking store managers, have become hotbeds for youth delinquency.

In particular, 13 unmanned stores in the Suwan district, where numerous petty theft cases involving amounts between 1,000 and 5,000 won have occurred, were intensively patrolled.

The patrolling police officers met with youths on site to discuss crisis situations related to harmful environments, coping methods, and cases of maladjustment among peers, focusing on building consensus for discovering at-risk youth and preventing deviant behavior.

A representative from the Women and Youth Division of Gwangsan Police Station stated, “Recently, youth crimes have become increasingly bold, and there are many at-risk youths facing difficulties for various reasons in our society. The Gwangsan Police will actively cooperate with related organizations and diligently carry out outreach activities to timely identify friends in need and make every effort to prevent delinquency by linking youth safety nets.”

They added, “We will continue to promote guidance and support activities while carefully researching policies from the perspective of socially vulnerable youth so that young people can grow up healthily.”

Meanwhile, at-risk youth outside of school and home refer to youths who are likely to experience psychological and behavioral disorders such as dropping out of school, running away from home, crime, and delinquency, and who are in a blind spot where normal development is difficult without appropriate adult intervention and support.