School Violence Patterns Have Changed Over 10 Years... Police Implement 'Customized' Response

[Financial News] The Seoul Police are launching a two-month youth crime prevention campaign for the new school term. The focus is on a consumer-centered customized prevention approach to address the evolving crime patterns.
The Seoul Police Agency announced on the 3rd that they will operate a 'New School Term Youth Crime Prevention Intensive Activity Period' from September 1 to October 31 in collaboration with the Seoul Autonomous Police Committee.
The intensive activities involve 156 School Police Officers (SPO) working in 1373 elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul. They plan to conduct school violence prevention education and publicity, youth guidance activities, and crime intelligence gathering targeting 780,000 students.
According to the police, the pattern of youth crime has significantly changed over the past 10 years. Physical violence decreased by 19% from 1586 cases in 2015 to 1284 cases last year, but insults and defamation increased by a whopping 435% from 65 cases to 348 cases during the same period. Deepfake sex crimes also rose by 269% from 192 cases to 709 cases.
With the increase in mobile phone and SNS usage among youths, online crimes are also on the rise. Online crimes, which were 777 cases in the first half of last year, increased by 24.5% to 967 cases in the first half of this year.
Additionally, crimes related to stalking and mental disorders increased by 95% and 26.8% respectively, and there is also an increase in luring and kidnapping (26 reports to 112 over the past two years).
The Seoul Police Agency is operating a 'Customized Youth Crime Prevention System' to address these changes. Based on school-specific crime statistics and surveys, they select the most urgent crime types and provide customized education in cooperation with specialized institutions.
The police explained that a pilot operation conducted in some schools under the jurisdiction of the western and northern districts in June and July received positive responses from both students and teachers. Accordingly, they will expand it to all schools in Seoul from September.
Additionally, 85 more child safety keepers will be deployed to police stations that have recently received child abduction and kidnapping reports, bringing the total to 1303. These keepers are composed of retired police officers and local residents.
Stalking crime prevention education will also be strengthened. The police will actively inform that 'simple acts such as sending text messages or visiting can also be punished,' and high-risk youths will be designated as SPO interview management targets and intensively managed with the investigation team (APO). Youths with mental disorders will be managed in conjunction with mental health welfare centers and family courts to ensure there are no blind spots.
Park Hyun-soo, Acting Commissioner of the Seoul Police Agency, emphasized, "General prevention activities have limitations in responding to the diverse current youth crimes," and added, "A paradigm shift in prevention activities tailored to each school's characteristics is now not a choice but a necessity."
Lee Yong-pyo, Chairman of the Autonomous Police Committee, said, "We will actively promote effective prevention activities in line with the high-risk exposure period of the school opening season."  



jyseo@fnnews.com Seo Ji-yoon Reporter