A City Trapped in Social Distancing, Crime Has Also Quieted Down

Theft, Violence, Fraud, etc. Decrease
Reduced Interactions Due to Social Distancing
Fewer Opportunities for Crime

During the 1st Wave: Daegu and Gyeongbuk
During the 2nd Wave: Seoul and Gyeonggi
Crime Decreases in Major Spread Areas

[Asia Economy reporters Yoo Byung-don and Jung Dong-hoon] The spread of COVID-19 and social distancing measures have been found to have an impact on crime occurrence.

According to the "Report on Changes in Crime Patterns after the COVID-19 Pandemic" obtained by Asia Economy on the 1st from the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice Policy, major crimes such as theft, violence, and fraud decreased compared to the previous year during the outbreak and the first and second waves of the pandemic. The report presented the weekly and monthly totals by comparing the average number of incidents (including murder, robbery, violence, theft, domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence, fraud, traffic accidents, suicide, etc., totaling 10 types) that occurred from January to October in 2018 and 2019 with the average number of incidents during the same period in 2020.

Theft crimes, which had shown a steady increase in recent years, reversed to a downward trend after the COVID-19 outbreak. In March 2020, during the first wave, there were 618.48 cases, below the usual average of 655.26 cases. In August 2020, during the second wave, 667.00 cases were recorded, showing the largest decrease compared to the usual average of 736.32 cases.

Violent crimes showed a similar pattern. Comparing the trends between 2018-2019 and 2020, the monthly decrease was around 100 cases. After the first wave, the difference exceeded 200 cases, and in September, after the second wave, there were 1,428.23 cases, showing a gap of more than 400 cases compared to the usual average of 1,841.55 cases. Regionally, Seoul and Gyeonggi areas showed a larger decrease in violent crime cases during the second wave compared to other regions, while Daegu and Gyeongbuk had relatively fewer cases during the first wave. This is analyzed to be influenced by the fact that COVID-19 mainly occurred in Daegu and Gyeongbuk during the first wave, and in Seoul and the metropolitan area during the second wave.

Fraud crimes had shown a continuous increase over the past two years but slightly decreased last year. In January (177.10 cases) and February (162.79 cases), the number of incidents was similar to or slightly higher than the past two years' figures (174.84 and 140.38 cases), but after late February, it began to decline gradually, showing a completely different trend from previous years. Typically, fraud cases increased from March (200.27 cases) to October (346.76 cases), but in 2020, they decreased from March (166.06 cases) and dropped to 112.74 cases in October. However, while the total number of fraud cases decreased, cyber-intelligent crimes such as voice phishing, internet fraud, and virtual currency-related crimes increased.

The report explained, "It can be interpreted that the opportunities for crime decreased as social interactions declined," but also noted, "However, more research is needed before concluding specific crime trends and patterns." In fact, the report stated that for seven other types of crimes besides theft, violence, and fraud, there was no significant difference before and after COVID-19, or it was difficult to find a correlation.

The report also highlighted issues with police administrative and investigative powers within the infectious disease management system. Concerns were raised about excessive enforcement of police authority and excessive privacy invasions in tracking the movements of confirmed patients and contacts. Regarding this, a police official said, "(Infectious disease-related tasks) are primarily handled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, but the police mainly operated in the field during social distancing enforcement." He added, "While the police role is necessary during emergencies, it is not appropriate for police resources to be constantly deployed, and police law enforcement should be restrained."

Limitations have also emerged in untact (contactless) information activities targeting foreigners. The Ministry of Justice has postponed crackdowns on illegal foreign residents in Korea to address blind spots in quarantine, raising concerns about security blind spots. Especially with the spread of COVID-19, online drug transactions have increased, and drug distribution and crimes involving foreigners have also risen. Another police official expressed difficulties, saying, "Untact information activities targeting foreigners have become practically impossible because these activities rely on human intelligence, which requires personal contact." He added, "It has also become practically impossible to extradite wanted criminals from abroad or for foreign police to bring foreign criminals residing in Korea."

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