Police Officers' Union: "Abolish Mobile Patrol Unit... Increase Personnel in Jigu-dae and Police Substations"

Self-Satisfaction Survey Conducted Among 5,000 Police Officers

The National Police Agency's organizational restructuring plan announced last February has sparked growing dissatisfaction within the agency. There are also opinions that the Mobile Patrol Unit should be abolished and personnel at district police stations and police boxes should be increased.

According to a survey conducted by the National Police Workplace Council (Police Workplace Council) among 5,000 employees affiliated with the National Police Agency regarding satisfaction with the police organizational restructuring policy, 65.6% (2,704 people) responded 'very dissatisfied' and 22.6% (932 people) responded 'dissatisfied' to the question about satisfaction with the police organizational restructuring, indicating that 88.2% (3,636 people) of all respondents are dissatisfied with the recent police organizational restructuring. Only 8.9% (367 people) answered 'neutral,' 1.8% (74 people) 'satisfied,' and 1.1% (44 people) 'very satisfied.'

The main reason cited for dissatisfaction with the restructuring was 'reduction of field personnel' (80.2%, 2,911 people). This was followed by 'increase in field workload' 11.1% (402 people), 'unnecessary new organizations' 5.15% (185 people), and 'others' 3.6% (132 people).

Regarding the question of whether the restructuring has enabled a response to abnormal motive crimes, 81.7% (3,354 people) answered 'no.' 'Neutral' was 10.8% (445 people), and 'yes' was 7.5% (309 people).

The effectiveness of the Mobile Patrol Unit, which was launched with the aim of crime prevention through visible patrols, also appeared to be limited. For the question on the 'visible preventive patrol effect of the Mobile Patrol Unit,' 89% (3,664 people) answered 'no,' 8.7% (337 people) 'neutral,' and 2.8% (116 people) 'yes.'

Regarding whether the operation of the Criminal Mobile Unit has strengthened proactive criminal activities, more than 8 out of 10 respondents (82.2%, 3,378 people) answered 'no.' 'Neutral' was 11.2% (460 people), and 'yes' was 5.7% (234 people).

The Police Workplace Council pointed out in a statement, "We cannot respond flexibly to abnormal motive crimes or serious incidents due to long-distance travel," and added, "There is a security gap caused by the focus on arrest achievements through the capture of fugitives and others."

They continued, "The Mobile Patrol Unit was abolished in 2014 due to the imbalance in arrest achievements and issues with practicality. Its wide-area operation led to decreased situational response and problem-solving capabilities on the ground, overlapping roles with existing district police stations and police boxes, causing confusion due to unclear responsibility," and argued, "The Mobile Patrol Unit should be abolished and personnel at district police stations and police boxes should be increased."