More than 4,500 stalking cases were reported to police across the country last year, but offenders were punished by law in only 1 in 10 cases. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent study revealed that the sooner the police intervene in stalking crimes, the less harm comes to victims, with risk of serious injury or death lowered.
The doctorate thesis submitted in Dec. 2020 by Kim Sung-hee from the department of criminal psychology at Kyonggi University analyzed a total of 336 criminal cases, including murders and attempted murders that happened in intimate partner relations during the period from 2017 to 2019.
Among them, there were 126 cases in which ex-partners or ex-spouses were stalked.
According to the doctorate thesis, when the police intervened in the first month after stalking crimes were committed, 50 percent (two cases) of the victims were not physically harmed, followed by 25 percent (one case) who suffered from injuries requiring less than four weeks of medical treatment, and another 25 percent (one case) who suffered injuries requiring more than four weeks to heal.
However, when the police intervened one to three months after stalking crimes were committed, the share of victims who suffered injuries requiring less than four weeks of medical treatment stood at 42.9 percent (three cases), followed by 28.6 percent (two cases) each for injuries requiring more than four weeks of medical treatment and for victims who were murdered.
In particular, when the police intervened in the period from six months to five years after stalking crimes were committed, the number of victims who were murdered reached nine, three times higher than when the police intervened in less than six months.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
