Emergency Bells in Public Restrooms Not Responding Even When Shouting 'Save Me'... Gyeonggi-do Reports 239 Cases

Status of Emergency Bell Inspections in Public Restrooms in Gyeonggi-do

Gyeonggi Province has identified 239 cases of public restroom emergency bells that do not work even when shouting "Help me."

On the 11th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it had detected 239 cases of non-compliance after conducting inspections on the revision of installation ordinances and maintenance status of public restroom emergency bells in 31 cities and counties within the province from October 31 to November 27 last year.

This inspection was conducted in response to the 2021 amendment of the "Act on Public Restrooms, etc."

The amendment requires mayors and county governors to reflect in ordinances the designation of public restrooms and other facilities where safety management facilities need to be installed, effective from July 21, 2023.

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province focused on checking whether the ordinances related to public restrooms in the 31 cities and counties had been revised, whether the emergency bells were functioning properly, and the status of their maintenance.

Additionally, two cities and counties were arbitrarily selected for unannounced on-site inspections together with citizen auditors, targeting 136 restrooms (men's, women's, and disabled restrooms) in 93 public restrooms equipped with emergency bells (63 in Yongin-si and 30 in Dongducheon-si).

The emergency bell should respond immediately to crimes or safety accidents by allowing users to press the emergency bell button installed in the restroom or by recognizing specific words such as "Help me," triggering a loud siren and flashing warning lights installed outside, and enabling voice communication with the police station's 112 situation room.

However, during this on-site inspection, 26 out of the total 136 emergency bells were found to be malfunctioning. Among these, some had their power turned off or were not connected to the police or management agencies. There were also cases where the connection was made to the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency instead of the local police station, indicating that the emergency bells were not fulfilling their role in protecting residents' safety during emergencies.

Furthermore, among the 136 emergency bells, 88 were voice recognition-enabled. Using a sound level meter, the decibel levels at which the bells responded to shouts of "Help me" and "Save me" were measured. Despite shouting loudly over 100 dB, 45 cases were found where the bells either did not operate or only operated above 100 dB.

Although the abnormal sound detection standards for voice recognition emergency bells are not specified in laws or regulations, Gyeonggi Province explained that emergency bells that do not operate below 100 dB are unlikely to function properly in urgent situations.

In particular, in Yongin-si and Dongducheon-si, it was confirmed that the emergency bell installation companies arbitrarily raised the activation thresholds citing malfunctions, and the local authorities were unaware of this, indicating negligence in management and supervision.

In addition, Gyeonggi Province requested corrections for a total of 239 cases, including ▲26 cases of non-installation of two-way emergency bells (capable of direct communication with police stations), ▲7 cases of inappropriate emergency bell installation locations (not installed inside toilet cubicles), ▲126 cases of missing warning lights, warning signs, or protective covers, and ▲9 cases of malfunctioning warning lights.

Based on the results of this audit, Gyeonggi Province plans to propose that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety establish guidelines to properly set abnormal sound detection standards for voice recognition emergency bells.

Also, since cases were found where only women's restrooms had emergency bells installed or some accessories such as protective covers to prevent malfunction were not installed due to budget constraints in each city and county, the province plans to request national funding support for these parts. Currently, the province and cities/counties bear the budget.

Choi Eun-soon, Auditor of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Emergency bells in public restrooms, which are recognized as safety blind spots due to frequent crimes, are the only preventive measure that can protect residents from crime and safety accidents," adding, "Taking this audit as an opportunity, we will disseminate the cases to the 31 cities and counties to ensure thorough management of all public restroom emergency bells in the province, and we will continue audits in areas closely related to residents' lives."

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