Korean Job Discussion Forums

[trachys]

11-11-2008 17:58

Foreigners Outgrowing Policemen

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

Crimes by foreign nationals are rising here but police assigned to oversee the foreign community are suffering an extreme shortage of officers.

Rep. Kim Tae-won of the ruling National Grand Party said that the number of police officers at the foreign affairs department stood at 1,096 nationwide in October. About 1.2 million foreigners are living here.

``Simply put, the number of residents per foreign affairs police officer is 1,073, compared with 504 Koreans per officer nationwide,'' he said. ``We lack police officers who can handle crimes committed by foreign nationals.''

The number of crimes has risen steadily with the foreign population increase, reaching 14,524 in 2007 from 12,657 the previous year. ``The number already reached 16,198 as of October.

By region, Ilsan, Ansan, Hwaseong and Anseong in Gyeonggi Province recorded extreme police manpower shortages. The number of foreigners per foreign affairs policeman is 9,127 in Ilsan, 7,165 in Ansan, 6,803 in Hwaseong and 5,916 in Anseong.

The number of foreign residents in the areas has increased sharply but the number of police officers has remained stagnant.

Also more violent crimes are being committed including murder and rape, alongside an increase in drug trafficking.

``We have seen a massive influx of foreigners in recent years. We need more officers to over see them,'' said an official from the Foreign Department at the National Police Agency, who declined to be named.

They plan to open security centers in regions where foreigners established their own districts such as the ethnic Korean-Chinese and Chinese village in Guro, Seoul and a Bangladeshi town in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, he said.

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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/11/117_34232.html

[egrog1717]

I suppose they're counting privates as 'serious crimes' now...

[Imrahil]

Yeah, I read that earlier today, nothing like good generalizations! Although, I don't think they ever mentioned English Teachers. They were mostly talking about expat communites specially the Chinese and the Bangeldashi's.

[sigh!]

They have special policemen for foreigners? What happens when a normal policeman sees a foreigner raping someone... he calls one of the special guys and runs away?

[jkelly80]

Seeing as how the violent crime rate among foreigners is less than it is among the general Korean public, it would make sense to have less cops on these cases. Which they won't follow up anyway.

[crosbystillsstash]

A good idea would be to get the cops they have now to actually do somthing. The Police here are pathetic examples.

[Freakstar]

This will get Dave's all fired up today, for sure.

Sad article. While I'm sure that there are some "facts" included in that article, its slant and tone is totally biased and xenophobic. Maybe crime is on the up and up among Korean's foreign population - I believe it - and not just because some idiot reporter is telling me that it is. Fact is, in any society, the more foreigners you have coming in, the more crimes will be committed. It's a no brainer, really. More people, more crimes. But does this bit of information need to be reported in such a xenophobic way? No.

[flakfizer]

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200807/200807090013.html

Above is an article posted a while back by Ya-ta that shows that the crime rate of foreigners here sits at 1.4 percent, while that of the general Korean population here is at 3.5 percent.

[bassexpander]

Other countries realize the importance of hiring police that can interact with the foreign population. Perhaps Korea should consider hiring/training non-Korean police who can relate to the community better?

Oh, wait... that wouldn't go over well with local Anma's who refuse to service non-Koreans.

Forget I mentioned it.

[subicslugger]

I was hoping to reply to one of the comments made below the article on the Korean Times page.

Apparently you need to send a scanned copy of your ARC in order to be able to register!

Are they serious?

[Ultimo Hombre]

Well if anyone has ever wondered what it is like to kill a man, now seems like the time to try. Even if they had more cops they'd still be useless.

[ldh2222]

OP, you could be an editor for a K-paper with that headline!

[Ultimo Hombre]

Sign me up.
(What's this OP mean that I see all over this board?)

[DeLaRed]

[sarbonn]