Shin: "Swift Response Immediately After an Incident Is Crucial for the Early Discovery of Missing Persons"
At the Jinju City Council in Gyeongnam, a claim was raised highlighting the importance of swift initial response in the event of missing persons in the region, and calling for practical measures such as the establishment of a citizen network to address such incidents.
On the 14th, Jinju City Council member Shin Hyunkuk, during the 2nd plenary session of the 264th extraordinary meeting, explained the tendency for missing person incidents to be concentrated among socially vulnerable groups and emphasized in a five-minute free speech that rapid response immediately after an incident is crucial for the early discovery of missing persons.
Jinju City Council member Shin Hyunguk argues through a 5-minute free speech that rapid response immediately after an accident is crucial for the early discovery of missing persons.
Shin stated, "Of the 120 to 130 missing person reports filed each month in Jinju, the highest frequency involves children, dementia patients, and individuals with intellectual disabilities, in that order." He added, "While it generally takes an average of 31 hours and 20 minutes to find a missing person, if there are tips from citizens, the average discovery time is reduced to 4 hours and 23 minutes."
According to the statement, over the past three years, the number of missing and runaway reports at Jinju Police Station has remained steady, with 1,121 cases in 2022, 943 in 2023, and 1,101 in 2024.
As municipal-level responses to such incidents, the following measures were proposed: ▲ providing actual expenses to citizens or organizations involved in searching for missing persons ▲ establishing a 'local missing person response network' for swift action ▲ encouraging the implementation of a pre-registration system for missing person prevention ▲ expanding the distribution of smartwatches and supporting CCTV and drone search systems.
Shin stated that through these measures, "not only the police, fire department, and local government, but also local civic groups and volunteer organizations can cooperate to establish an immediate joint response system when a missing person incident occurs."
Meanwhile, according to data from the National Police Agency, from 2016 to 2023, 807 dementia patients were found dead after being reported missing.
In Jinju, there have been tragic cases highlighting the need for rapid search efforts: in January, an elderly person with mobility difficulties was found dead 70 hours after being reported missing on a mountain trail, and in December last year, a solitary elderly person was found dead 14 hours after being reported missing.
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