Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Operates Special Prevention Period to Eradicate Youth Addictive Crimes

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 21st that it will designate and operate the next three months, from the 22nd to November 18, as a "Special Prevention Campaign for School Violence in the New Semester."

During this period, the police plan to focus on preventing "addiction-related crimes such as drugs and gambling" and "cybercrimes." This measure considers the recent crime environment where teenagers can easily access drugs through SNS and illegal online gambling via smartphones. In fact, the number of drug-related arrests among teenagers by the Seoul Police increased by 266.7%, from 28 in 2018 to 66 last year. The number of counseling cases related to youth gambling also rose by 47.1%, from 484 to 712 during the same period. Cybercrime activities have also surged. According to the Seoul Police's records on arrests of teenage suspects involved in cyber sexual violence, the number increased by 150%, from 42 in 2018 to 105 last year.

To respond to these changes, the police decided to conduct intensive prevention activities centered on School Police Officers (SPOs). They will focus on providing addiction-related crime prevention education to middle and high school students and actively connect youths struggling with addiction issues to specialized institutions. This approach addresses criticisms that previous efforts toward youth drug and gambling crimes were mainly investigative and reactive, lacking sufficient prevention and healing activities. The Seoul Police stated, "To ensure effective response, we have signed agreements with related specialized institutions and established a response system where prevention, investigation, and healing activities are organically integrated."

They will also carry out focused prevention activities against "cybercrimes" such as those occurring in metaverse and Ask platforms. SPOs will warn youths through crime prevention education that violence in cyberspace can lead to criminal punishment. Additionally, through 35 dedicated cyber SPOs, monitoring of illegal activities on SNS will be strengthened, and efforts will be concentrated on preventing damage in advance using the new school violence alert system called "School Bell." Strict measures will be taken in response to any occurrence of school violence.

Kim Kwang-ho, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, emphasized, "Teenagers can easily access addiction-related crimes such as drugs and gambling online, causing serious social problems. Since the likelihood of reoffending is high once addicted, prevention through thorough preemptive blocking is more important than anything else." He also stated, "We will continue to build a robust public safety system where prevention, investigation, and healing can be achieved through cooperation with related agencies."

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