Police Change Term from 'Personal Protection' to 'Crime Victim Safety Measures'... What Will Change?

Risk Classified into 3 Levels Based on Danger
High-Intensity Protection Including "Very High" Safety Accommodations Provided
"Bump Fund Must Be Expanded to Protect Victims"

The suspect Kim Byung-chan, who was receiving personal protection due to stalking, is being transferred from Seoul Namdaemun Police Station to the prosecution for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As part of measures to strengthen on-site response capabilities, the police will change the existing term 'personal protection' to 'crime victim safety measures.' In line with this, they plan to implement customized protection measures by classifying victim risk levels into three stages.

The 'Comprehensive Measures to Strengthen Police On-Site Response Capabilities' announced by the National Police Agency on the 30th includes these improvements to personal protection. The police explained the reason for revising the term personal protection as follows: "The current term personal protection may be perceived as close protection, and it is difficult to encompass all various protective measures by the police."

Along with this, victim risk levels will be classified as very high, high, and normal, and protection measures will be implemented accordingly. The very high level refers to cases where there is a significant concern of specific harm, requiring effective and prompt blocking of the perpetrator's approach.

Specifically, this includes cases where the perpetrator, who knows the victim's residence, fled immediately after a violent crime; the perpetrator has a major violent crime record such as retaliatory crimes and has recently exhibited specific and repetitive threatening behavior; or the perpetrator attempted harm or fled during a restraining order period. At the very high level, the police will take measures such as providing safe accommodation (for more than 10 days), admission to protective facilities, support for relocation, and installation of AI CCTV.

Next, the high level is assigned when there is considerable concern of harm and protection is needed while ensuring the victim's daily life. Specifically, this includes cases where the perpetrator is under a restraining order, has one or more violent crime records, or has two or more other criminal records along with threatening behavior. In this case, the police will take measures such as registering in the 112 system, customized patrols, and issuing smartwatches. The last normal level refers to cases where there is a concern of harm and basic safety measures are necessary, with registration in the 112 system and customized patrols conducted.

For all three levels, the police will guide victims on behavioral guidelines to prevent harm. Additionally, to enhance the expertise and reliability of assessing crime victim risk and safety measure levels, the police plan to institutionalize the participation of external experts in the review committee when necessary.

Meanwhile, the police hold the position that the budget for crime victim protection must be expanded. This is because faster execution of the Crime Victim Protection Fund (Beompi Fund) is necessary to prevent retaliatory crimes such as rapid relocation. A National Police Agency official said, "Out of the fund exceeding 100 billion won, the police use about 1.6 billion won. The police, who must operate directly on-site, have the smallest budget allocation," adding, "It is necessary to expand this to secure a budget that can immediately prevent harm on-site."

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