Full-Scale Expansion of 'Restorative Policing Activities' for Crime Victim Recovery and Recurrence Prevention

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] On the 17th, the National Police Agency signed a business agreement with five 'Restorative Dialogue Specialized Institutions' to implement restorative police activities nationwide and discussed policy directions with experts in related fields.

The business agreement involved five specialized institutions: Conflict Resolution and Dialogue, Nonviolent Peace Wave, Good Teacher Movement, Korea Restorative Justice Association, and Korea NVC Center, along with Professor Kim Jae-hee of Sungkyul University and Chief Judge Lim Soo-hee of Cheonan Branch, Daejeon District Court.

Restorative police activities refer to police efforts that move away from 'retributive justice,' which focuses on punishing offenders, and instead aim to restore crime victims and prevent recurrence, ultimately targeting community safety and peace maintenance.

Restorative dialogue specialized institutions establish a one-on-one collaboration system with police stations and conduct restorative dialogue meetings led by restorative dialogue experts for cases referred by the police. These meetings involve offenders, victims, and stakeholders to derive solutions such as victim recovery and relationship improvement.

In the problem-solving process, the victim's demands and victim recovery are prioritized. Depending on the severity of the case and the dialogue results (reflecting the victim's intentions), cases may be subject to summary judgment requests or warnings, or the dialogue result report may be attached to investigation documents to be reflected in prosecution disposition and sentencing.

In fact, as a result of a pilot operation conducted last year targeting 15 police stations in the metropolitan area, a total of 95 cases were received, and mediation was successful in 84 of them. More than 80% of offenders and victims who participated in the restorative dialogue meetings responded that they were satisfied with the results, showing positive outcomes.

Accordingly, the police plan to expand and operate restorative police activities to 130 police stations nationwide starting from the 20th of this month. National Police Chief Min Gap-ryong said, "By implementing restorative police activities nationwide, the police will not only conduct investigations but also perform the role of assisting victims with meticulous protection and support so that they can quickly regain their pre-crime daily lives."

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