[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters is promoting the enhancement of the expertise of special judicial police and strengthening the protection of suspects' human rights.
The Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters announced on the 25th that it has decided to establish the "Fire Special Judicial Police Investigation Guidelines" in the second half of the year to improve the transparency and fairness of investigations by special judicial police and to protect the human rights of suspects violating fire-related laws.
The investigation guidelines will include initial response measures by fire stations for those obstructing fire activities, prior notification of video recording systems, and designation of representatives for paramedic victims. The Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters plans to establish a basic plan within this month, gather opinions from fire stations, and promulgate and implement the guidelines in November.
To improve the efficiency of special judicial police work, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters will also establish the "Gyeonggi-do Fire Special Judicial Police Work Management System," which systematizes judicial processing and fine imposition.
To strengthen dedicated investigations into fire-related offenses, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters was the first nationwide to establish a special judicial police dedicated team called the Fire Judicial Team in July 2019 at the headquarters and 27 fire stations. Subsequently, in April 2020, fire offense teams were installed and are currently operating at all 35 fire stations in Gyeonggi-do.
The special judicial police referred 442 cases in 2019, 625 cases in 2020, and 524 cases in 2021 to the prosecution. Additionally, they have conducted planned investigations annually, targeting 6,785 locations over the past three years, resulting in 310 cases of illegal fire activities being booked and 339 cases fined.
Earlier, on the 21st and 22nd, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters held the "2022 Special Judicial Police Job Training" in Yangpyeong, attended by about 70 special judicial police officers from fire stations.
The training included education from the National Forensic Service on the introduction of the "Digital Certification Service," a humanities special lecture by Professor Kim Cheol-min of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, a presentation contest on special judicial police operation cases, followed by a session exchanging opinions on special judicial police investigation tasks, know-how on discovering investigation cases, development directions, and suggestions.
Nam Hwa-young, head of the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters, emphasized, "As large-scale fires have become frequent recently, the role of special judicial police is more important than ever, so we will establish various systems to improve their job capabilities. We plan to take legal action against illegal activities to establish fire safety order, and special attention from related parties is required."
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