Gwangju Police Agency Sees Increase in 'Restorative Policing'... 37 Cases Successfully Mediated

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] There is an increasing trend of ‘restorative police activities’ that focus on victim recovery and prevention of recurrence, moving away from the retributive perspective of correcting wrongdoing through punishment of the perpetrator.

The Gwangju Police Agency conducted restorative dialogue meetings for a total of 41 cases from January to July this year, and 37 of those cases were resolved through mediation.

School violence cases were the most frequent with 26 cases, and restorative dialogue meetings were also held in various other areas such as noise complaints between floors, domestic violence, and theft.

Although there are other systems such as criminal mediation at the prosecution stage, the significance of ‘restorative police activities’ lies in providing solutions through dialogue at the police stage before conflicts deepen.

Restorative police activities refer to “police activities that maintain community peace by ultimately restoring harm and improving relationships through the participation and dialogue of victims, perpetrators, and experts when conflicts, disputes, or crimes occur.”

The National Police Agency introduced the restorative police activities system in 2019, conducted pilot operations at 15 police stations, and has expanded it annually; in the second half of this year, it is being operated at 230 stations nationwide.

For cases such as school violence, neighbor conflicts (noise complaints between floors), and domestic violence, where fundamental problem-solving is needed rather than simple punishment, parties can engage in dialogue led by professional dialogue organizations to restore harm and receive promises to prevent recurrence.

Participation is based on the voluntary consent of victims and perpetrators, and participants can withdraw their intention to participate at any time before, during, or after the dialogue meetings.

Compared to serious crimes such as murder and robbery, these cases may seem less significant, but from the public’s perspective, such incidents can threaten daily life and cause anxiety, highlighting the need to activate restorative police activities.

By sincerely sharing each other’s positions early in the incident and providing apologies or compensation, the matter can be smoothly resolved, allowing both victims and perpetrators to return to their daily lives with peace of mind.

Meanwhile, the Gwangju Bukbu Police Station received a certificate of commendation as an excellent restorative police activity station nationwide in the first half of this year, and the Gwangju Police Agency is also making efforts to promote the system by producing case-based comics, holding SPO meetings, and creating card news to raise awareness among internal staff.

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