63 People as 'Safe Village Guardians' Conduct Crime and Safety Prevention Activities in 15 Districts with High Concentration of Single-Person Households
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 10th that the ‘Safe Village Security Guards,’ which began full operation in April this year to create a safe nighttime return environment for single-person households, have prevented 1,371 safety incidents over the past 110 days. Residents' satisfaction with public safety also increased by 23 percentage points compared to before the ‘Safe Village Security Guards’ activities.
Composed of 63 members including former police officers and martial arts black belts, the ‘Safe Village Security Guards’ wore yellow hats and patrolled neighborhoods in pairs, making significant contributions. They helped elderly people who were lost find their homes, discovered intoxicated individuals sleeping on the street and safely handed them over to local police stations. They also calmed a citizen who was causing a self-harm disturbance while carrying a butane gas canister, preventing what could have been a serious accident.
As the ‘Safe Village Security Guards’ carried out preventive activities throughout the area, overall satisfaction with the ‘Safe Village Security Guards’ project was high at 91%. The percentage of respondents who said the project provided psychological stability was also 92.1%. The city plans to continuously conduct satisfaction surveys on the project areas, compare and analyze the results to increase public awareness of the project and address any shortcomings.
Earlier, Seoul City secured an additional budget of 863 million KRW through the first supplementary budget, laying a stable foundation to carry out the project until the end of the year. The city has selected the implementing agency for the second half of the year and completed the selection and preliminary training of the security guards.
Lee Hae-seon, Head of the Special Task Force for Single-Person Household Measures, said, “The Safe Village Security Guards project is contributing to securing nighttime safety and enhancing psychological stability for single-person households and other citizens,” adding, “We will do our best to gradually expand the project areas to create an environment where single-person households can return home safely.”
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