Basic Equipment Malfunctions Render Patrol Cars Inoperable
"Serious Violation"... Urgent Need for Comprehensive Review and Improvement
The new patrol cars deployed by the police earlier this month have become embroiled in controversy, being labeled so-called "bare-bones patrol cars." It has been reported that these vehicles are currently unable to perform their duties because basic equipment is not functioning.
On June 15, Yonhap News reported that 13 new Grandeur patrol cars assigned to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency's highway patrol have been parked in garages for over ten days.
According to Shin Jung-hoon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and chair of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, it was confirmed that these patrol cars were not equipped with the tablet PCs used to control functions such as radios and emergency lights.
The Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency also received six patrol cars?both Grandeur and Nexo models?but they, too, are not operational due to the absence of tablet PCs. The Daegu Provincial Police Agency, which received two Nexo patrol cars, reportedly found that the emergency lights and black boxes were not properly integrated with the tablets.
Additionally, in some patrol cars, electronic display boards that had not received approval for structural modification passed inspection, resulting in emergency light specifications that do not meet the standard requirements.
Of the 125 new Nexo and Grandeur highway patrol cars deployed nationwide earlier this month, problems?both major and minor?have been identified in all 21 vehicles checked as of June 14.
A police official stated that field officers only discovered the malfunctions after boarding the newly assigned vehicles, adding, "How can we protect citizens with patrol cars that can't even turn on the emergency lights at night?"
Last year, the National Police Agency replaced 959 aging patrol cars. The process involved sending standard vehicles to specialized companies for exterior wrapping and installation of dedicated equipment before delivery. A total of 49.1 billion won was spent for this purpose.
However, 343 vehicles were not delivered for several months past the deadline, and even those delivered belatedly were deployed in an incomplete state. Yonhap News quoted a frontline officer as saying, "Because of equipment issues, personnel are constantly being rotated, and frustration is mounting in the field."
Representative Shin criticized, "It is a serious violation for the National Police Agency to unilaterally deploy unfinished vehicles that have not even passed inspection to the field," and stressed, "A comprehensive review and improvement of the agency's budget allocation and overall equipment management is urgently needed."
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