Crime Goes Contactless Amid COVID-19, Extortion and Threats Surge

High-Intensity Social Distancing Up 44% in March, 23% Surge
Stalking Against Women Increases 14%
Child Abuse and Dating Violence Slightly Rise
Crime Among Close Relations Up Due to Isolation
Traffic Accidents and School Violence Drop Reflecting Reduced Mobility
New Public Safety Policies Needed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been revealed that 'non-contact' violent crimes such as extortion, threats, and stalking have increased. On the other hand, school violence has decreased due to online classes, and the reduction in outings has led to a decrease in traffic-related crimes. As the period of social distancing lengthened, the security environment also changed, and experts interpret this as highlighting the need to establish policies that correspond to these changes.

At a recent commemorative academic webinar conducted by the Police University Institute of Security Policy Research, research results on the "Security Environment in Korea Before and After COVID-19" were announced. The most notable finding in the research was the increase in reports of extortion and threats. Extortion and threats are representative non-contact violent crimes carried out via phone calls or text messages. Recently, extortion acts using smartphone messengers have also become frequent. In fact, analyzing the 112 emergency call data as of March this year, when high-intensity social distancing was implemented due to the Shincheonji Church cluster infection, extortion crime reports increased sharply by 44.4% to 65 cases compared to the same period last year. Threat reports also rose by 22.8% to 690 cases compared to last year. During this period in Gwangju, three suspects were arrested by the police on charges including extortion for deceiving a man in his 40s into a conditional meeting through a random chat app and extorting money.

Among crimes targeting women, stalking showed a noticeable increase. Stalking cases rose by 13.9% to 279 compared to last year. Child abuse within the home and dating violence also slightly increased. This is interpreted as a result of increased violence and crimes among close relations such as family or partners due to isolation from the outside caused by COVID-19.

Conversely, traffic-related crimes significantly decreased as people refrained from going out. Hit-and-run cases dropped by 62.7% to 35, and traffic violations decreased by 47.5% to 11,439 compared to last year. School violence also decreased by 54.1% to 231 cases as students' attendance was restricted. It is also notable that reports of juvenile delinquency decreased by 20.8% during the same period. Juvenile delinquent acts mainly occur through "gathering," and COVID-19 has changed this environment.

These trends are clearly confirmed in the major crime forecasts for September to December. In a prediction model applying machine learning (LSTM) analysis, threats and extortion, residential intrusion, child abuse, stalking, and dating violence are expected to continuously increase in the second half of this year compared to the previous year. In particular, stalking showed an "upward" graph with 364 cases in October, 373 in November, and 404 in December. Kim Hye-jin, a researcher at the Institute of Security Policy Research, explained, "There is a growing need to establish security policies that consider environmental changes such as reduced population movement due to social distancing measures," adding, "Since crime patterns are changing and new security demands are emerging, the significance of this research lies in proactively responding to related issues."

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