On the afternoon of May 28, at Suseong Lake in Suseong District, Daegu, during a digital joint patrol demonstration by the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency using AI drones and robots, two “Polibot” patrol robots pursued and confronted a sexual assault suspect while the mobile patrol unit arrived to subdue him. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s national police said it will expand the mandate of its mobile patrol units, deploying them more aggressively to prevent stalking and other relationship-based crimes, amid ongoing debate over the units’ effectiveness.
The Korean National Police Agency announced on August 24 that patrol officers will be concentrated around individuals deemed high risk for repeat offenses, such as stalkers, perpetrators of dating violence, and offenders under electronic monitoring.
The units will also be tasked with handling urgent emergency calls and coordinating more closely with local precincts and substations.
Launched in February 2024 after a spate of random attacks heightened public anxiety, the mobile patrol force now consists of 28 units with 2,668 officers nationwide. But frontline officers have long complained that diverting manpower to broad foot patrols drains resources from already understaffed stations without significantly reducing crime.
On October 26 last year, ahead of the second anniversary of the October 29 Itaewon disaster, the police mobile patrol unit conducted a Halloween crowd-control patrol in the Hongdae area of Mapo District, Seoul.
In defending the program, the police cited statistics showing that the number of emergency “112” calls fell by 11 percent in the 16 months since the units were introduced, compared with the previous comparable period.
Officials said patrol officers have identified more than 35,000 potential crime risks before they escalated, and apprehended suspects ranging from car thieves to organized crime members based on community tips.
The units have also been mobilized during natural disasters, mass rallies — including those linked to the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol — and major international events.
Still, the agency acknowledged the controversy, noting that crime prevention is influenced by multiple factors and that measuring the patrols’ direct impact remains difficult. “Despite positive results, objective evaluation is limited, and criticism persists,” the police said, adding that it will refine the system to ensure “substantive and sustainable” outcomes.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
