According to a report from the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), 350 out of the 5,983 police cars in Korea were overage and worn down at the end of 2014. (image: wikipedia)
UIJEONGBU, Jun. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Budget shortages are delaying the replacement of old and deteriorated police cars in Korea.
According to a report from the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), 350 out of the 5,983 police cars in Korea were overage and worn down at the end of 2014.
Among the 350 cars, 105 patrol cars were still deployed even though they were overage, since their mileage hadn’t exceeded the standard for replacement.
Another 245 cars were overage and had run too many miles already. However, the replacement of those cars is currently being postponed due to a lack of funding.
For instance, although the usage period of police cars is usually 8 years, 1 out of 4 forensic science cars and 1 out of 3 prisoner escort cars in Korea have been used beyond that period.
The average usage period for patrol cars and investigation cars was also reported to be 9 and 10 years respectively.
A police officer in Gyeonggi-do recently had to borrow another department’s car to reach a crime scene, as the officer’s own car, which had more than 300,000 kilometers on the odometer, suddenly refused to start.
When the officer requested a replacement from the KNPA, they were informed that there was no room in the budget for the replacement.
By M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
