Police to Promote 'Information Collection' on Released Violent Offenders... Heated Debate at Police Agency Human Rights Committee

Legal Basis and Concerns Over Human Rights Violations Clash
National Police Agency: "Measures to Prevent Recidivism... Target Group Actually Reduced"
Prevailing Argument: "First Amend the Law to Clearly Define 'Information Collection'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police have initiated the preparation of a revised regulation to apply the existing Police Agency regulation, "Rules on Intelligence Collection of Probationers," to individuals released after committing serious violent crimes. However, it has been confirmed that there was a heated debate within the Police Agency Human Rights Committee regarding the legal basis and concerns over human rights violations.

According to the Police Agency on the 30th, the revised regulation was a major agenda item discussed at the regular meeting of the Police Agency Human Rights Committee held on the morning of the 27th. The Police Agency Human Rights Committee was launched in 2005 as the "Police Agency Human Rights Protection Committee" and has served as an advisory body to the Commissioner General of the Police Agency. Since 2017, its role has expanded to include advisory functions on human rights impact assessments and reviewing the validity of accepting recommendations from the National Human Rights Commission. Currently, the 7th Police Agency Human Rights Committee Chairperson is Lawyer Kim Chil-jun of the Dasan Law Firm.

The police plan to rename the existing regulation to "Rules on Information Collection Regarding Released Persons of Major Violent Crimes" and specify that the purpose of information collection is to prevent recidivism and promote reintegration as sound members of society. This follows the current "Act on the Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Prisoners (Execution of Sentences Act)," which stipulates that, when necessary for preventing recidivism, supporting independence, and protecting victims, the criminal record of inmates can be provided to police stations.

The police explained that this revision narrows the scope of information collection to released persons of major violent crimes. A Police Agency official stated, "After correctional institutions make a judgment, only some cases deemed necessary for recidivism prevention are notified to the police stations," adding, "This means that the target group for information collection will be further reduced to those involved in major violent crimes such as murder and robbery." He also added, "Although the term 'information collection' may have a negative connotation, it is conducted from the perspective of crime prevention."

However, within the Police Agency Human Rights Committee, opinions were raised that the legal basis for "information collection" should be more clearly defined. Among the 13 committee members, 7 attended the meeting, and the revised regulation was evenly split 3 to 3 (excluding the chairperson). It was reported that Chairperson Kim supported the view that "discussion should take place after the amendment of the Police Officers' Execution of Duties Act (Police Duties Act)." Currently, a bill to amend the Police Duties Act to clarify the scope of police intelligence activities is under discussion in the National Assembly. If this bill passes, the scope of police information collection will be limited to "information related to the prevention and response to risks to public safety." This is interpreted to mean that subordinate regulations such as the Police Agency rules should be reviewed after this law is enacted. Additionally, some committee members expressed concerns that collecting information on all individuals involved in violent crimes could constitute a "human rights violation."

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