Veteran Increase and Shorter Case Processing Time... Avoidance of Investigation Departments Is a Thing of the Past

Investigation Experience Increased from 7.4 Years in July 2022 to 8.1 Years This Year
Case Processing Time Reduced from 74.3 Days to 61.4 Days

The personnel structure of police investigation departments, once considered undesirable, has generally stabilized, with an increase in long-term employees.

According to the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters on the 21st, the proportion of new investigators with less than one year of investigative experience decreased by 6.92 percentage points from 19.9% in 2022 to 12.98% this year, while the proportion of investigators working in investigation departments increased by 2.1 percentage points from 77.9% to 80%.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The average investigative experience has also gradually increased from 7.4 years in 2022 to 7.5 years last year and 8.1 years this year. Looking at each department, the Women and Juvenile Investigation Team, which handles socially sensitive issues such as stalking crimes and dating violence, saw an increase from 6.9 years to 7.8 years, while the Intelligent Crime Investigation Team, which mainly deals with recognized cases such as fraudulent fundraising and jeonse fraud, increased significantly from 7.4 years to 8.6 years.

With the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency shifting to a team leader-centered investigation system, the case processing period has also significantly decreased from 74.3 days as of March 2022 to 61.4 days this year. It is analyzed that the increase in the average investigative experience of investigation department team leaders from 14.6 years in 2022 to 16.7 years last year and 17.7 years this year has had a major impact on shortening the case processing period.

The proportion of investigators with investigative experience working at frontline police stations is also showing an upward trend. In particular, the proportion of veteran investigators with more than 10 years of experience in investigation departments gradually increased from 29.7% in 2022 to 32.2% this year.

The National Investigation Headquarters plans to significantly improve the ‘Investigator Qualification Management System,’ a personnel system that assigns investigator qualification grades based on experience and capability, and gradually expand the selection of the highest grade, Responsible Investigator, aiming to assign 1,200 Responsible Investigators?20% of section and team leaders?within five years.

An official from the National Investigation Headquarters stated, “We will expand various benefits, personnel, budgets, and infrastructure for investigation departments, and create an environment where investigators, including veterans, can work long-term by expanding and reorganizing the Investigator Qualification Management System.”