As Crimes Diversify and Technology Leaks Increase... Police Investigation Personnel Only Slightly Increased

As of the end of this year, investigative police increased by 1.4%
Cybercrime and industrial technology leaks... Overburdened workload inevitable

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Although the role of the police has expanded following the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and the police, personnel recruitment is moving in the opposite direction.

On the 21st, Asia Economy reported after covering the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Police Agency that the increase in police investigative personnel this year is 440. This includes all investigative, criminal, forensic, and cyber investigation personnel. After an increase of 1,079 investigative personnel in 2020, the number decreased to 839 in 2021, and this year it has halved again. As of the end of this year, the total number of investigative police officers is 31,041, which is only a 1.4% increase compared to 30,601 in 2020.

According to frontline police officers, the number of applicants for the 'Investigation Division' has also decreased. This is reportedly due to the increased number of cases to be handled following the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police, as well as the increased workload caused by non-prosecution decision documents and the investigative review officer system.

A police superintendent at a frontline police station in Seoul said, "The workload is intense, and personal time is lacking, so it has long been a department that officers avoid," adding, "Even if about 400 personnel are increased overall, the additional personnel assigned to the 258 police stations nationwide will be only one or two per station."

Another active police officer said, "There are many procedures that must be done at the police stage, such as writing non-prosecution decision documents and double or triple reviews of investigations," and added, "Since the prosecution only investigates six major crimes, the number of cases itself has sharply increased compared to before."

There are also limitations in investigative capabilities due to the increasing sophistication and complexity of crimes such as voice phishing and virtual asset fraud.

One police officer said, "Incidents related to Bitcoin, stocks, and other areas never cease," and explained, "The provisions of the Capital Markets Act are difficult, and in cases of fraud, all accounts must be seized and searched, making the procedures complicated." Corporate cases handled by large law firms require even greater expertise and specialization in investigations.

An official from the National Police Agency said, "There have been limits to personnel increases due to the growing national financial burden," and added, "We plan to consult with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and others." However, a government official said, "The budget is limited, and public criticism of increasing civil servant numbers is so strong that a large-scale increase is difficult." In fact, the total increase in personnel at the National Police Agency this year is 2,030, nearly 1,000 fewer than in 2021.

However, due to the government's inertia in supplementary budgets and public criticism of increasing civil servant numbers, a large-scale increase is expected to be difficult. A government official stated, "The budget is limited, and public criticism of increasing civil servant numbers is so strong that significantly increasing personnel is not easy."

Professor Kwak Daekyung of Dongguk University’s Department of Police Administration said, "If case processing is delayed and eventually leads to poor investigations, trust in the entire police force could collapse," adding, "Since the social loss would be considerable, sufficient support in personnel and budget is necessary to ensure no difficulties in investigations."

Professor Lee Woonghyuk of Konkuk University’s Department of Police Science also said, "If the fact-finding process at the police investigation stage, which is the first step in the criminal justice system, is not properly conducted, situations may arise that cannot be extended to the prosecution, courts, and correctional facilities," and added, "As police investigations expand to include industrial technology leakage and other areas, the shortage of investigative personnel could become even more severe."

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