[Exclusive] 97% of School Police Say "Abolish Investigations"... Police Themselves Reduce Their Role

In January This Year, 'SPO Investigation Ban Directive' Issued
School Violence Actually Increased
Experts Say "Difficult to Prevent School Violence... Ensuring Roles Is Important"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Amid growing awareness of school violence following the controversy involving lawyer Jeong Soon-shin's son, it has been belatedly revealed that the police issued a directive prohibiting School Police Officers (SPO) from conducting investigations. Despite the increase in school violence cases, concerns are being raised that the police are voluntarily reducing their role, leading to lax management and supervision.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 13th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a survey in January this year titled 'Abolition of Investigation Duties for School Police Officers.' The results showed that 97% of the 131 SPOs working in Seoul supported the abolition of investigative duties, with only 3% opposing.

When the SPO system was first implemented in 2012, the National Police Agency issued guidelines to prevent police officers from conducting investigations. However, in February 2013, the Seoul Police Agency created guidelines allowing SPOs to investigate cases where preventive activities and investigations overlapped. Yet, after an internal survey this January, it was confirmed that the Seoul police once again issued a 'prohibition on investigations' directive to frontline police stations.

The Seoul Police Agency stated that the abolition of investigative duties was made considering fairness with other provincial police agencies and the professionalism of investigations. However, some voices express concern that the authority of SPOs is being excessively reduced.

School Police Officers met by Asia Economy on the ground unanimously responded that "the authority to intervene in issues is limited, but the responsibility is significant." In particular, even when the number of schools assigned to an SPO exceeds ten and more than half of the day is spent on fieldwork, they agreed that there is physically insufficient time. SPOs said that they visit at least three schools a day during their fieldwork-centered duties.

The duties of School Police Officers include ▲ tailored responses to 117 reports ▲ identifying and disbanding violent clubs followed by post-monitoring ▲ preventing further harm to victims and linking them to specialized agencies ▲ guidance programs for perpetrators ▲ discovering out-of-school and out-of-home youth ▲ establishing school-police hotlines, among others.

Sergeant A, an SPO at a police station in Seoul, said, "I have no idea why the investigative authority, which previously existed, was removed," adding, "If a case needs to be formalized, we connect it to the Women and Juvenile Investigation Team."

Another SPO, Officer B, said, "It is difficult to intervene midway if the school is conducting its own investigation," but added, "If the police conduct investigations, it should lead to punishment, and there might be concerns about the increased workload."

Corporal C, who has been working as an SPO at a frontline police station in Seoul for three years, said, "I am currently responsible for 17 schools, so the workload is very heavy," and added, "The authority to intervene in school or student issues is limited, but the responsibility is significant." He continued, "There are also directives to manage areas beyond the police's scope, such as out-of-school and out-of-home youth management and support for young people preparing for independence," expressing frustration that "in areas where expertise is lacking, there is nothing we can do except link to specialized agencies."

Regarding this, Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University's Department of Police Science pointed out, "This structure makes it practically impossible to prevent school violence," and warned, "The significance of having police stationed on-site may be diminished." He added, "The role of School Police Officers must be guaranteed so that police command within school spaces can be secured and they can actively voice concerns on actual issues."