Korean National Police Research Articles

Measuring Cybercrime in Calls for Police Service

Conventional police databases contain much information on cybercrime, but extracting it remains a practical challenge. This is because these databases rarely contain labels that could be used to automatically retrieve all cybercrime incidents. In this article, we present a supervised machine learning method for extracting cybercrime incidents in calls for police service datasets. Data from the Korean National Police (2020, 9 months, N = 15 million call logs) is used for the demonstration. We combined methods of keyword query selection, minority oversampling, and majority voting techniques to develop a classifier. Three classification techniques, including Naïve Bayes, linear SVM, and kernel SVM, were tested, and the kernel model was chosen to build the final model (accuracy, 93.4%; F1-score, 92.4). We estimate that cybercrime only represents 4.6% of the cases in the selected dataset (excluding traffic-related incidents), but that it can be prevalent with some crime types. We found, for example, that about three quarters (76%) of all fraud incidents have a cyber dimension. We conclude that the cybercrime classification method proposed in this study can support further research on cybercrime and that it offers considerable advantages over manual or keyword-based approaches.

Factors and age-related drivers that influence self-rated bad health in police officers: A cross-sectional study

ObjectiveAlthough some previous studies have investigated health in police officers, investigations of related factors have been limited to work-related associations or those affecting certain police officers. To address this gap, this study investigated relationships between sociodemographic factors, work-related factors, health behaviors, health conditions, and self-rated bad health (SRBH) in Korean police officers. MethodsIn 2021, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in cooperation with the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA). The respondents were 6,591 police officers aged 21–60 years, all of whom agreed to complete the survey online using the police agency’s intranet. After collecting data, we conducted a multiple logistic regression analysis to examine factors that were associated with SRBH, with calculations for adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). The study model included a range of individual socioeconomic characteristics, work-related variables, health behaviors, and health conditions. ResultsAlthough the associated factors varied according to age group, several factors generally related to SRBH, including the lack of exercise, stress, having one or more chronic diseases, and work-related pain. By contrast, neither sex nor sleep duration were associated with SRBH of respondents. Monthly night work, smoking, and alcohol consumption were only associated with SRBH of certain age groups. ConclusionsSeveral variables clearly related to SRBH of police officers. In this context, health-related associations, especially stress and chronic diseases, tended to differ according to age, including those that should be considered to improve health. These findings have important implications for relevant healthcare programs and interventions.

｢경찰관직무집행법｣ 제11조의5 물리력 사용 경찰관의 형사책임 감면조항의 타당성에 관한 연구

Public distrust of police grew over two police officers’ poor response to an attempted murder case in Incheon, Korea on November 15, 2021. The incident resulted in a public outcry for police reform and measures to address police incompetence as a female officer left the crime scene while a victim was stabbed in her neck. After the incident, the Korean National Police Agency initiated a revision to the Act of the Performance of Duties by Police Officers on the ground that the potential for criminal liability from use of police force is a primary obstacle to officers’ proactive law enforcement in the field. As the National Assembly approved the revision, police officers can be immune to criminal liability or their liability can be mitigated when they meet the requirements in the immunity clause. Nevertheless, the legislation faces strong opposition as it fails to adopt the concept of objectively reasonable mistakes in use of police force situations. In this regard, the current study critically reviewed the adequacy of the immunity clause within the context of legal nature of police force, police use of force standards as well as immunity to criminal liability clauses in 41 states in the United States of America. The present study proposed several policy implications for proper use of police force including the revision of the current immunity clause, changes in police officers’ weapon carrying systems and police officer requalification systems.

국내외 사례 기반 다중이용시설 내 이상동기 범죄 대책 개선 연구

The recent stabbing incident in South Korea is a Mudjima crime, which was called by media in 2003, that indiscriminately attacks an unspecified number of people and the Mudjima crime’s victim is unclear, increasing citizens' anxiety and fear. Due to the limitations of the expression “Mudjima”, the Korean National Police Agency has named it “Abnormal Motive Criminal” in 2022. As some studies, it were related to terrorism, it is necessary to consider matters based on this. Therefore, this study aims to compare and analyze domestic and international typical examples of the case and suggest additional considerations. To this purpose, first, we define Abnormal Motive Criminal based on previous studies and discuss its connection with terrorism. In addition, since the more people there are, the more damage they suffer, we would like to analyze countermeasures focusing on multi-use facilities from the perspective of CPTED(Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design). The results of this study can be used to prepare countermeasures for each stage of disaster management in preparation for the occurrence of Abnormal Motive Criminals in multi-use facilities.

An Empirical Analysis of Violent Crimes Committed by Foreign Nationals in South Korea

As the number of foreigners residing in South Korea has increased, the overall scale of crimes committed by non-Korean nationals and the associated public anxiety have both risen. This paper seeks to explore the trends in violent crimes committed by foreigners in Korea by examining crime statistics from the Korean National Police Agency and immigration data from the Korean Ministry of Justice. Additionally, this paper empirically examines the attributes of the home countries of foreign criminals who are arrested in Korea. The results of our analysis, based on the violent crime statistics for foreign nationals of twelve types from 2003 to 2019, reveal that foreigners from higher-income countries with better educational environments are more likely to be involved in violent criminal activities. Individuals from countries with relatively strong law enforcement are less likely to engage in violent crime while residing in South Korea.

Fast Prediction for Criminal Suspects through Neighbor Mutual Information-Based Latent Network

One of the interesting characteristics of crime data is that criminal cases are often interrelated. Criminal acts may be similar, and similar incidents may occur consecutively by the same offender or by the same criminal group. Among many machine learning algorithms, network-based approaches are well-suited to reflect these associative characteristics. Applying machine learning to criminal networks composed of cases and their associates can predict potential suspects. This narrows the scope of an investigation, saving time and cost. However, inference from criminal networks is not straightforward as it requires being able to process complex information entangled with case-to-case, person-to-person, and case-to-person connections. Besides, being useful at a crime scene requires urgency. However, predictions from network-based machine learning algorithms are generally slow when the data is large and complex in structure. These limitations are an immediate barrier to any practical use of the criminal network geared by machine learning. In this study, we propose a criminal network-based suspect prediction framework. The network we designed has a unique structure, such as a sandwich panel, in which one side is a network of crime cases and the other side is a network of people such as victims, criminals, and witnesses. The two networks are connected by relationships between the case and the persons involved in the case. The proposed method is then further developed into a fast inference algorithm for large-scale criminal networks. Experiments on benchmark data showed that the fast inference algorithm significantly reduced execution time while still being competitive in performance comparisons of the original algorithm and other existing approaches. Based on actual crime data provided by the Korean National Police, several examples of how the proposed method is applied are shown.

Exploring Trust in the Police in South Korea During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Does Fear of the COVID-19 Matter?

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments restricted community members’ activities and, in turn, patterns of human behavior, both legal and illegal, changed. In many countries, the police have been entrusted to enforce these new COVID-19 related restrictions and were often perceived as the main enforcers of these sometimes unpopular measures. In this paper, we study four types of factors that may affect the public's trust in the police during the COVID-19 pandemic: traditional factors, such as interactions with the police during the pandemic, assessments of the police effectiveness in dealing with the pandemic, COVID-19 related factors, such as instrumental concerns for their personal health, and the adherence to the conspiracy theories. Specifically, using data from a sample of 527 respondents from the Seoul metropolitan area in South Korea, collected in the fall of 2021, we estimate the effects of the factors listed above. The results indicate that trust in the Korean National Police was strengthened when the police were perceived to have effectively dealt with the challenges of the pandemic and addressed the instrumental concerns of the community in the protection of public health. No demographic variables were significantly independently associated with trust in the police during the pandemic. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Exploring the direct and indirect relationships between policing and citizen satisfaction in South Korea

PurposeThe author explored the direct and indirect relationships between policing and citizen satisfaction, considering both the policing and neighborhood context at the regional level.Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted regression and path analysis based on the combined data of 190 local governments from the Korean National Police Agency, the Korean Crime Victim Survey and Statistics Korea.FindingsPatrol officers, a public safety budget, criminal arrests and perceived safety were positively associated with citizen satisfaction, whereas drinking rate was negatively associated with citizen satisfaction. The arrest rate partially mediated the relationship between the public safety budget and citizen satisfaction. In addition, the relationship between drinking rate and citizen satisfaction with police was partially mediated by perceived safety.Practical implicationsPolice and local governments should enhance citizen satisfaction by improving poor indicators of policing and neighborhood context and by considering the dynamics between factors.Originality/valueStudies analyzing the mediating effects on citizen satisfaction with police are still lacking.

방검 성능을 부여한 차세대 경찰 외근조끼 디자인 개발

Background/Objectives: The purpose of this research is to develop the design of the next-generation knife-proof duty vest with enhanced protective performance and mobility for police officers.
 Methods: From March 1st, 2022 to February 28th, 2023, the research was conducted to develop the design of the next-generation knife-proof duty vest for police officers. The existing police duty vests and knife-proof vests are analyzed. The result of the meeting with the equipment officer of Korean National Police Agency and the conference of Police-Lab. 2.0 was also analyzed.
 Results: Nine major issues were discovered by analyzing the existing police duty vests and knife-proof vests, and the result of the meeting and the conference. Based on the result of the analysis, the 3D design of the prototype next-generation duty vest with enhanced protective performance and mobility for police officers was developed by using CLO 6.0; a 3D fashion design software. The final design was fixed after a few modifications and the sample was produced.
 Conclusion/Implications: The next-generation knife-proof duty vest developed in this research can protect police officers from mortal wounds on the neck and heart, unlike existing police duty vests, its convertible collars and lapels can provide convenience. The widespread adoption of this next-generation duty vest with enhanced protective performance and mobility for police officers will solve most problems of current duty vests, reduce police officer mortality on duty, and increase crime prevention and case resolution rates.

경찰 물리력 사용 관련 ｢경찰관직무집행법｣ 개정 필요성에 관한 연구

Police use of force must be strictly guided and regulated by State Legislature because of its serious impact on citizens when erroneously used. Although prior research addressed several loopholes in the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officer with respect to police use of deadly force, no amendment has been attempted to revise the Act in accordance with research suggestions. As police use of force takes up a great amount of police recruit tests as well as promotion tests, wrongful interpretation by the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) regarding police use of force regulations can lead to direct infringement of citizens’ constitutional rights. Nevertheless, few research studies in this field have examined potential errors in police recruit and promotion tests conducted by the KNPA. In this regard, the present study reviewed the tests for the last 10 years, finding five problematic questions regarding legal limits of police use of force based on the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officer. The current study found that police officers can be misguided by a few sections in the Act regarding police use of deadly force, police use of non-deadly equipment, and chemical agents or irritants. In an effort to minimize the wrongful applications of the Act, the current study reviewed police use of force regulations in state laws of 43 states and Washing DC in the United States. Finally, the present study proposed several research implications with respect to revision of the Act.

Evaluation of autonomous emergency braking by using a theoretical formula and dual cameras

According to data gathered by the Korean National Police Agency, 1,028,777 vehicle-to-vehicle traffic accidents and 125,597 vehicle-to-pedestrian traffic accidents occurred in 2020. To decrease the occurrence possibility of traffic accidents, advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS), which provides assistance in regions that drivers do not recognize, have attracted increasing interest. Among the representative functions of ADAS, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) is a valuable system for accident prevention and mitigation. In this study, to evaluate AEB by using dual cameras, actual vehicle tests were conducted. In addition, the theoretically calculated values, results obtained using dual cameras, and results obtained using measuring instruments were compared and analyzed. The result values using the proposed theoretical formula and those of the actual vehicle test using the measurement instruments were compared and analyzed. The minimum and maximum error rates were 0.11% and 4.45%, respectively. For results obtained using dual cameras and measurement instruments, the minimum and maximum error rates were 1.80% and 8.89%, respectively. In the development stage of ADAS especially when developing AEB system, the use of the theoretical formula and dual cameras can decrease the cost burden compared to that associated with testing.

공공데이터와 CCTV 가시영역을 활용한 CCTV 우선 설치구역 추천

The ratio of security CCTVs to the number of public CCTVs has been increasing recently. Thus, a reasonable standard for the installation location of CCTV is required. In order to effectively select a location suitable for CCTV, this study proposes a method of scoring and visualizing CCTV priority installation areas by analyzing and utilizing public data and CCTV geographic information data through GIS. The public data we used are criminalist section data provided by the Korean National Police Agency, public and commercial facility data in the specific region, and geographic information data of CCTV. In particular, the actual visible area of CCTV was derived as a polygon using the α-Concave Hull algorithm through collision detection between the building and the visible area of CCTV. Furthermore, the results were improved by using it in analyzing geographical factors and adjusting AHP factors.

Two Cases of Suicidal Asphyxia by Neck Compression

In majority of deaths from asphyxiation that affect the cerebral blood flow, compression occurs at the neck. Compressive asphyxia caused by a heavy weight is usually the result of an accident. The authors used the Korean national police agency's scientific crime analysis system to identify two cases of suicide by strangulation which were not otherwise specified, wherein asphyxiation occurred from an object pressing on the neck. In the first case, a man in his 50s died after the compression of his neck with a barbell shaft using a bench press. In the second case, a man in his 80s died due to compression from the side bar of a single bed that pressed on his neck. As far as the authors know, there have been no reported cases of suicide in forensic literature that occurred due to compression from an object such as a barbell shaft of a bench press or a side bar of a bed. Upon classifying the types of asphyxiation, accurate statistics should be prepared and researched, with accurate understanding and classification of the terms therein. Each case in the present report is discussed along with a brief literature review.

경찰서장 수행능력 제고 방안에 관한 연구: 경정 보직 개편을 통한 경찰서 부서장제도 신설을 중심으로

경찰서장 수행능력 제고 방안에 관한 연구: 경정 보직 개편을 통한 경찰서 부서장제도 신설을 중심으로

The impact of the Mental Health Act revision for deinstitutionalization in Korea on the crime rate of people with schizophrenia

This study examined changes in the crime rates of people with schizophrenia in Korea in comparison with the general population after the Mental Health Act revision for deinstitutionalization in 2017. The crime rates of people with schizophrenia and the general population were calculated from 2012 to 2021 using the Korean National Police Agency crime statistics. The effects of the law revision in 2017 on the crime rates were assessed using the interrupted time series and difference-in-difference analyses. The crime rates of people with schizophrenia tended to be lower than the general population except for murder and arson, which were 5.3 and 11.4 times, respectively, that of the general population. While no significant effect of the revision was found in the interrupted times series analysis, the difference-in-differences analysis indicated that the total crime rates and the rates of violence and public order crime increased among people with schizophrenia compared with the general population. The revision of the Mental Health Act for deinstitutionalization did not lead to an increase in the murder rate of people with schizophrenia as is commonly thought. However, the increases in overall crime and violence rates of people with schizophrenia suggest that the deinstitutionalized patients may not have been successfully relocated into the community. The increase in crime after the revision should be interpreted as a call for well-resourced community care rather than the reason for re-transfer of patients to hospitals.

경찰 도주차량 추격용 GPS 위치추적기 사용기준에 관한 연구

Recently, the Korean National Police Agency in conjunction with Ministry of Science and ICT has initiated a research and development project on attachable GPS tagging systems that allow its officers to tag, track, and arrest fleeing suspects by reducing the necessity to engage in a hazardous high-speed pursuit. The new systems that launch a GPS bullet at a fleeing or about to flee vehicle collect the location information of the vehicle without a search warrant until police officers successfully track and stop the vehicle. There is no denial that police use of GPS tracking technology during the conventional investigation process requires a warrant issued by courts. As police officers who use GPS tracking devices during high-speed chases have only a limited ability to write a warrant, the legal limits of the police GPS tracking systems must be carefully established. Furthermore, the research and development project also needs to consider safety rules as the GPS device may cause bodily harms to suspects, bystanders as wells as pursuing police officers. In this regard, the present study attempted to establish police manuals of GPS tracking systems during high-speed pursuit situations within the context of the Fourth Amendment by analyzing StarChase guidelines of the 14 police departments in the United States. Upon analysis, the current study proposed that in order to apply the GPS device in the field police officers must have the equivalent of probable cause of committing a crime. In case of misdemeanor, use of the GPS device must be restricted unless the fleeing suspect vehicle endangers police officers and other citizens, an arrest warrant is issued for the suspect, and the crime that leads to police pursuit is a felon of minimum sentence of three years in prison. With respect to safety considerations, the current study discussed the safe approachability to a fleeing vehicle within targeting range, weather conditions, and suspect vehicle weaving. Finally, the present study proposed a training requirement that police officers must complete before applying the GPS tracking device.

외사 경찰의 국제공조수사 인식에 대한 탐색적 연구

This study aims at exploring the subjective perception of law enforcement practitioners who work in the field of foreign affairs and INTERPOL. In particular, the present study focuses on examining the perception of Korean police officers regarding the necessities and the ways of building international cooperation with foreign police officers. The numbers of dangerous criminals who had fled overseas have been dramatically increased in South Korea. International Criminal Police Organization(INTERPOL) refers to the international organization that supports worldwide partnerships of police in order to combat transnational crimes and arrest the offenders fleeing overseas. Numerous criminals who tried to flee overseas have committed various types of transnational crimes such as cyber crimes, trafficking in persons, and other organized crimes avoiding investigation of INTERPOL. Few studies have been conducted about the attitude and perception of policemen who work in the sectors of foreign affairs and INTERPOL in South Korea. The current study emphasized the significance of the perceptions of police officers about utility of INTERPOL for re-arresting criminals who fled overseas and subjective opinions of police officers about red notice for combating transnational crimes. Furthermore, this study concentrated on the comparative police cooperation strategies in terms of assigning the effectiveness of “KOREAN DESK Police Officers” regarded as Korean liaison officers who work in foreign countries. Data were drawn from the total number of 317 police who had participated in survey from 4, December to 7, December, 2020 with the support of Korean National Police Agency. Result demonstrated that specific training and education for police officers are required in the field of foreign affairs due to the lack of perception about non-red notice issues of INTERPOL and insufficient international cooperation systems with foreign police departments. Further policy implications will be discussed.

Quantifying incident impacts and identifying influential features in urban traffic networks

Traffic incidents are a common occurrence in urban traffic networks, but predicting their impacts is challenging because of network complexity and the dynamic spatial and temporal dependencies inherent in traffic data. Nevertheless, the prediction of traffic incident impacts is crucial for global positioning systems to provide drivers with real-time route recommendations for bypassing congested roads. To this end, we formulated nonrecurrent congestion measures to quantify these impacts and developed a new method to identify the influential features that locally affect individual incidents. Because traffic incident impacts are determined by a complex entanglement of local features, a meaningful feature that can explain their impacts globally may not exist. Consequently, to identify all influential local features, we applied the local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME) technique to the proposed nonrecurrent congestion measures. The proposed method was validated using real user trajectory data and incident data provided by the NAVER Corporation and the Korean National Police Agency, respectively.

Effect of Exercise Combined with Natural Stimulation on Korean College Students' Concentration and Positive Psychological Capital: A Pilot Study.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of short-term exercise, within the natural environment or by applying similar visual stimulation, on concentration and positive psychological capital among Korean college students. Participants were 175 male college students—selected by non-probabilistic sampling—from the Korean National Police University in Asan-si, Republic of Korea, in March 2021. Participants were divided into three condition groups: the natural environmental exposure with outdoor exercise (n = 57), visual stimulation with indoor exercise (n = 58), and indoor exercise (control group; n = 60). The variables measured were concentration and positive psychological capital. Pre- and post-exercise data differences were analyzed using two-way (3 × 2) analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation analysis, and statistical significance was set at 0.05. The results revealed a significant main effect on concentration, with lower scores post-intervention indicating positive changes in all three groups. In addition, the scores for positive psychological capital sub-factors (self-efficacy, optimism, and hope), in the groups with the natural environmental exposure with outdoor exercise and visual stimulation with indoor exercise conditions, reflected higher positive change than the indoor exercise group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the Bonferroni post hoc test on this interaction effect revealed that the participant scores for the natural environmental exposure with outdoor exercise and visual stimulation with indoor exercise groups were positive after the exercise (p < 0.05). However, there was no interaction effect for the ego-resilience subscale (p > 0.05). Therefore, participating in short-term exercise while being exposed to a natural environment with healing characteristics or providing visual stimulation of a similar natural environment was found to positively impact the Korean college students’ concentration and positive psychological capital’s self-efficacy, optimism, and hope. Moreover, this particular intervention only affects subjective measures of well-being while not particularly influencing objective measures, such as cognitive functioning. We recommend implementing similar visual stimulation with indoor exercise for the current generation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Traffic Landmark Matching Framework for HD-Map Update: Dataset Training Case Study

High-definition (HD) maps determine the location of the vehicle under limited visibility based on the location information of safety signs detected by sensors. If a safety sign disappears or changes, incorrect information may be obtained. Thus, map data must be updated daily to prevent accidents. This study proposes a map update system (MUS) framework that maps objects detected by a road map detection system and the object present in the HD map. Based on traffic safety signs notified by the Korean National Police Agency, 151 types of objects, including traffic signs, traffic lights, and road markings, were annotated manually and semi-automatically. Approximately 3,000,000 annotations were trained based on the you only look once (YOLO) model, suitable for real-time detection by grouping safety signs with similar properties. The object coordinates were then extracted from the mobile mapping system point cloud, and the detection location accuracy was verified by comparing and evaluating the center point of the object detected in the MUS. The performance of the groups with and without specified properties was compared and their effectiveness was verified based on the dataset configuration. A model trained with a Korean road traffic dataset on our testbed achieved a group model of 95% mAP and no group model of 70.9% mAP.