Police Agency Responds to Consecutive Officer Deaths with "Workload Reduction and Expanded Performance Rewards"

New Investigator Probation Period Granted
Personnel Reallocation Plan Established
Support for Mental Health Diagnosis and Management

The National Police Agency has introduced measures to address the recent series of police officer deaths, including reducing workload, strengthening field response capabilities, enhancing rationality in personnel management, expanding performance rewards, and improving mental health diagnosis and management.

Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, National Police Agency. [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 20th, the National Police Agency's Field Work Condition Diagnosis Team announced that after diagnosing the working conditions at the front lines over the course of about a month, they have prepared improvement measures.

As a measure to reduce workload, investigations will be streamlined by merging similar cases from the reception stage before case assignment, and the scope of transferring cases requiring metropolitan-level investigations or those with high difficulty to specialized departments of the provincial police agencies will be expanded. Unnecessary tasks that hinder efficiency during police investigations will be reduced, and the introduction of simplified case processing procedures will also be considered.

To strengthen field response capabilities, education for newly assigned investigators in investigative departments will be reorganized to focus on case studies and practical training to help them adapt, and a two-week probation period will be granted upon transfer. Additionally, cases will be assigned considering the investigator’s capabilities and case difficulty to reduce psychological burden. Furthermore, to enhance the expertise of investigation team leaders and ensure responsible case management, periodic refresher training will be conducted, and command competency evaluations will be improved to enable team leaders to fulfill their expected roles.

For enhancing rationality in personnel management, the National Police Agency will analyze various security indicators and workload by provincial police agencies and police stations to prepare measures for balanced personnel allocation, and will promote reassignment during the regular personnel reshuffle in the first half of next year. Regarding the integrated investigation teams, which have reported increased workloads, data shows that among 52 police stations in the top 20% nationwide, the average number of cases received per person over six months from January this year was 112.2, whereas among 77 stations in the bottom 30%, it was 59.4, indicating significant differences in workload between stations.

As a measure to expand performance rewards, for the integrated investigation teams, which are representative undesirable departments, various performance rewards such as special promotions, salary increases, and shortened periods for preferential treatment as public officials will be considered for outstanding performers. Working experience in integrated investigation teams will be established as a preferential condition for transfer to other investigative departments. The agency also plans to continuously review the introduction of various allowances reflecting the characteristics of police duties through consultations with related ministries.

For strengthening mental health diagnosis and management, all police officers will be encouraged to participate in the ‘Police-tailored Mental Health Diagnostic Scale Test,’ and psychological support such as designated counseling and specialist referrals will be expanded for high-risk groups. In the long term, the expansion of the Mind Companion Centers (from 18 to 36 locations) and an increase in counselors (from 36 to 108 personnel) will be pursued.

Cho Ji-ho, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated, “The measures prepared to fulfill responsibilities that meet the demands and expectations of the public with limited personnel will be implemented swiftly to create conditions where field police officers can fully demonstrate their capabilities and qualities.”