For the past 18 years, the police have introduced various measures whenever major missing person cases occurred. Following the 2007 "Anyang, Gyeonggi Province elementary school student kidnapping and murder case," the police established "missing person investigation teams (missing person investigation teams)" at police stations nationwide starting in 2008. As controversy over the police’s inadequate investigation into the recent case of Jang Mi-ran’s disappearance in Jeju emerged, the National Police Agency announced plans to change the system for handling missing person cases.
However, it was revealed on the 26th that while missing person cases have increased, the personnel and organizations responsible for search and investigation have been reduced. According to National Police Agency statistics, last year’s missing person reports totaled 125,383 cases, a 17% increase from 2021 (107,381 cases). In contrast, the number of personnel in missing person investigation teams established in criminal investigation departments at police stations nationwide decreased by 10% from 848 people to 763 people during the same period. Although the police promised to establish missing person investigation teams at all police stations nationwide 18 years ago, 114 out of 261 police stations (44%) currently do not have such teams.
It has also come to light that the measures previously prepared by the police for missing person cases are not functioning properly. According to the police "missing person investigation manual," if the whereabouts of a missing person are not confirmed within 12 hours, a countermeasure meeting presided over by the head of the criminal investigation department at the police station must be held. However, this proved ineffective in the investigation of Ms. Jang’s case.
Amid this, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Police Agency announced on the 26th, "Jang Mi-ran is presumed to have left her accommodation around 10:15 p.m. on May 12 and died in the early hours of May 13, with low possibility of homicide." The police stated, "It was confirmed that the officer in charge of Ms. Jang’s case did not have any phone conversations with her."
Meanwhile, the National Police Agency has prepared a "renewal plan for the operation of missing person investigation teams" in light of Ms. Jang’s case. The police have decided to prohibit "non-face-to-face closures," where cases are closed after only confirming safety through a phone call with the missing person. Even if the missing person refuses to meet with the officer, the case will now be closed only after directly confirming their safety with the cooperation of relevant agencies such as the fire department.
- 월 5900원 멤버십, 신문 독자에게는 2900원, 조선멤버십
- 55000원 상당의 신문-잡지 8종 마음껏 보기, 조선멤버십
- 현금처럼 쓸 7000포인트 받아 알뜰한 쇼핑, 조선멤버십
Post a Comment