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Press Release
ACRC & Korean National Police Agency collaborate to enhance fairness and transparency in policing
- Date2015-01-08
- Hit2,531
December 1, 2014
The ACRC and the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) agreed to jointly develop and implement institutional improvement plans to enhance fairness and transparency in the performance of police duties.
As the KNPA recorded one of the lowest levels in the Integrity Assessment in the years 2011 - 2013, it has pushed forward intensive countermeasures to increase its integrity level, designating the year 2014 as "the banner year for increased integrity." However, under the recognition that it is necessary to improve institutions to the extent that it is visible to the people, the KNPA and the ACRC signed an MOU in January and have identified improvement tasks.
The two agencies analyzed the problems occurring in the process of policing and jointly created the improvement plans by utilizing the ACRC's big data such as the data collected through e-People (www.epeopl.go.kr), the online system to file complaints against the government, and the results of the Integrity Assessment, and the disciplinary records managed by the KNPA.
According to the improvement plans, the police will exclude those who were punished for misconduct such as leakage of information about crackdowns from appointment to major positions such as the chief of a police station or in the areas of investigation, budget, and personnel affairs.
The improvement plans also cover areas related to cooperative bodies operated by the police for the security of local communities, including the Police Development Committee and Korea Best Driver Association. According to these plans, the police will create regulations for the members of the cooperative bodies to prohibit police officers from borrowing money or receiving entertainment and convenience from the cooperative bodies. The violation of the regulations will lead to dismissal.
The plans also include tightened disciplinary regulations, considering that the police are required to maintain a higher level of integrity than any other organizations. The disciplinary criteria will be created for those who request money and entertainment as well as those who accept them, and additional punishment will be imposed on those who repeat such wrongdoing.
Additionally, for the security of the people, the police will enhance the management of police cars so that they cannot be abused for crimes. In the case of selling disused police cars to the private sector, specific regulations will be put in place about police marks to be removed and the methods and procedures of the removal.
Besides, suspects will be provided with sufficient information about the organizations for legal aid such as the Korean Bar Association and the Korea Association of Beommusa Lawyer in order to prevent the intervention of police officers in introducing a lawyer. If a police officer has an objection to the direction of the investigation, he or she can request counseling from the Code of Conduct Officer, and if the direction is deemed to be in need of change, the Code of Conduct Officer should report this matter to the head of the organization.
This year, the KNPA has made efforts to improve its integrity level by operating a task force led by the Deputy Commissioner General; reflecting all the process in carrying out integrity-related duties in performance ratings of each police station; and actively reinforcing its own integrity training.
An official of the KNPA said, "We will actively implement the ACRC's recommendations to enhance transparency in police duties. In addition, we will make continuous efforts to develop and supplement integrity policies next year to be an outstanding organization in the Integrity Assessment."
The ACRC and the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) agreed to jointly develop and implement institutional improvement plans to enhance fairness and transparency in the performance of police duties.
As the KNPA recorded one of the lowest levels in the Integrity Assessment in the years 2011 - 2013, it has pushed forward intensive countermeasures to increase its integrity level, designating the year 2014 as "the banner year for increased integrity." However, under the recognition that it is necessary to improve institutions to the extent that it is visible to the people, the KNPA and the ACRC signed an MOU in January and have identified improvement tasks.
The two agencies analyzed the problems occurring in the process of policing and jointly created the improvement plans by utilizing the ACRC's big data such as the data collected through e-People (www.epeopl.go.kr), the online system to file complaints against the government, and the results of the Integrity Assessment, and the disciplinary records managed by the KNPA.
According to the improvement plans, the police will exclude those who were punished for misconduct such as leakage of information about crackdowns from appointment to major positions such as the chief of a police station or in the areas of investigation, budget, and personnel affairs.
The improvement plans also cover areas related to cooperative bodies operated by the police for the security of local communities, including the Police Development Committee and Korea Best Driver Association. According to these plans, the police will create regulations for the members of the cooperative bodies to prohibit police officers from borrowing money or receiving entertainment and convenience from the cooperative bodies. The violation of the regulations will lead to dismissal.
The plans also include tightened disciplinary regulations, considering that the police are required to maintain a higher level of integrity than any other organizations. The disciplinary criteria will be created for those who request money and entertainment as well as those who accept them, and additional punishment will be imposed on those who repeat such wrongdoing.
Additionally, for the security of the people, the police will enhance the management of police cars so that they cannot be abused for crimes. In the case of selling disused police cars to the private sector, specific regulations will be put in place about police marks to be removed and the methods and procedures of the removal.
Besides, suspects will be provided with sufficient information about the organizations for legal aid such as the Korean Bar Association and the Korea Association of Beommusa Lawyer in order to prevent the intervention of police officers in introducing a lawyer. If a police officer has an objection to the direction of the investigation, he or she can request counseling from the Code of Conduct Officer, and if the direction is deemed to be in need of change, the Code of Conduct Officer should report this matter to the head of the organization.
This year, the KNPA has made efforts to improve its integrity level by operating a task force led by the Deputy Commissioner General; reflecting all the process in carrying out integrity-related duties in performance ratings of each police station; and actively reinforcing its own integrity training.
An official of the KNPA said, "We will actively implement the ACRC's recommendations to enhance transparency in police duties. In addition, we will make continuous efforts to develop and supplement integrity policies next year to be an outstanding organization in the Integrity Assessment."
