Hamyang Police Station Workplace Council Calls for More Investigative Staff and Funding

Concerns over increased police workload following investigative system reforms... limitations of staff reallocation pointed out
Calls for support to strengthen investigations into livelihood-related crimes, victim protection and forensic capabilities
"Simply transferring existing personnel is not enough... Improvements to the investigative work environment are needed"

The Hamyang Police Station Workplace Council in South Gyeongsang Province said that investigative personnel and budget should be increased to prepare for a rise in police investigative work resulting from reforms to the criminal justice system.

The Hamyang Police Station Workplace Council, chaired by branch chair Kang Byeonggwon, recently said in a letter to the editor that personnel and budget support are needed to strengthen the police's investigative capabilities in response to changes in the investigative system, including the abolition of the prosecution's direct investigative function.

[Photo provided by Hamyang Police Station] Kang Byeonggwon, branch chair of the Hamyang Police Station Workplace Council. In a recent letter to the editor, Kang said police investigative personnel and budgets need to be expanded to prepare for an increase in investigative work following reforms to the criminal justice system.

The council stressed that, as the police are expected to assume greater investigative responsibility following the reforms, additional personnel for field investigations and a corresponding reallocation of budgets should be carried out together.

In particular, it said that rather than maintaining the personnel and budgets previously allocated to the prosecution, staffing and financial resources should be reasonably adjusted among relevant agencies in line with changes in investigative work.

The council pointed out that the police handle investigative duties closely tied to people's daily lives, including responding to crime scenes following 112 emergency calls, conducting initial investigations, protecting victims and questioning suspects, but that personnel and budgets are insufficient to handle the increased workload.

It also raised concerns that although the police have added personnel to investigative departments in preparation for changes to the investigative system, some of these staffing increases have been made by transferring personnel from existing departments.

The council argued that such staff transfers alone would not solve the overall police staffing shortage, and that hiring new investigative personnel must go hand in hand with strengthening their expertise.

It also said that if additional funding is secured as part of the investigative system reforms, it should be allocated first to expanding personnel investigating crimes affecting people's livelihoods, improving forensic investigation systems, protecting victims and improving investigators' working conditions.

The council also commented on the government's proposed 2027 National Police Agency budget, saying it had increased by only about 5% from the previous year and did not sufficiently reflect the additional investigative demand resulting from reforms to the criminal justice system.

However, the budget's rate of increase and whether it includes funding related to the investigative system reforms need to be verified against the detailed items in the government's budget proposal.

The council stressed that increasing police investigative personnel and budget is necessary to enhance the expertise and fairness of investigations and strengthen victim protection and the rights and interests of the public.

Kang Byeonggwon, branch chair of the Hamyang Police Station Workplace Council, said that responding to the increased workload resulting from changes to the investigative system requires not only reallocating existing personnel but also making substantial increases to staffing and budget.

The Hamyang Police Station Workplace Council plans to continue calling for increased staffing and budget to improve field police officers' investigative work environment and strengthen their investigative capabilities.

Changes in the police's investigative responsibilities and workload resulting from reforms to the criminal justice system need to be considered in terms of field staffing and budget allocation.

In particular, a comprehensive staffing plan is needed to ensure that transferring existing police personnel to investigative departments does not lead to staff shortages in other areas of public safety.

However, an objective analysis of actual changes in workload and the detailed line items in the government's budget proposal must come first in determining the appropriate levels of investigative personnel and budget.

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