'S-shaped Course' DUI Checkpoints and Acrylic Barriers... Police Catching Two Birds with One Stone in Security and Quarantine

Police Ideas for COVID-19 Response Battle
Video Conferencing System, Separate Meals in Cafeteria

On the afternoon of the 16th, in downtown Gwangju, a 'trap'-type drunk driving checkpoint is being conducted, creating an 'S'-shaped passage to filter out suspected drunk drivers instead of the traditional checkpoint-style inspections that were halted due to the spread of COVID-19. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis prolongs, the police's 'ideas' to prevent gaps in public security activities are also evolving. While minimizing contact with the public, they are increasing enforcement efficiency, and internally, various measures for infectious disease prevention have been proposed and are being practically applied.

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency is utilizing an 'S-shaped course' for drunk driving enforcement. This idea emerged after the police shifted their drunk driving enforcement method from the traditional mass checkpoint inspections to selective enforcement at the end of January to prevent infectious diseases. Patrol cars, safety warning lights, and traffic cones are installed on roads around vulnerable areas such as entertainment districts and restaurant zones to create an S-shaped pattern that induces slow driving and suppresses escape attempts. In particular, drunk driving vehicles often fail to properly navigate this course, allowing selective drunk driving enforcement to be conducted on those vehicles. Subsequently, the Gwangju Police Agency introduced this method to five police stations within its jurisdiction and achieved results by detecting 11 drunk driving cases within three days.

Measures to minimize contact between police officers have also been established. On the 13th of this month, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency installed webcams, microphones, and speakers in 37 offices of commanders at the level of section chief and above, establishing a non-face-to-face video conferencing system. This was done to minimize contact within the police building and prevent any potential security gaps. Additionally, for the Mobile Headquarters, which has frequent public contact, measures such as temperature checks, mask-wearing, building disinfection, and suspension of the use of the internal fitness room have been implemented. Since droplets can be expelled through breathing or sweat during exercise and potentially cause infection, this is a preemptive measure to block transmission.

Gyeongbuk Police's 'Hasomaso' Campaign.

The 'Haso Maso Campaign' initiated by the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency on the 10th of this month is also receiving positive responses. It is an internal campaign encouraging five actions: wearing masks, washing hands, early return home, reporting contact with confirmed cases, and adhering to infection prevention rules; and discouraging five actions: handshakes, rumors, company dinners, visiting crowded places, and overseas travel.

The Gangwon Police are practicing 'W-shaped' seating at the cafeteria tables and staggered meal times to minimize contact, while the Gwangju Police have begun installing prefabricated acrylic partitions in investigative departments such as criminal, investigation, women and youth, and traffic investigation units at each police station. The police plan to share outstanding ideas nationwide among provincial police agencies and allow them to be applied according to local characteristics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.