The risk of recidivism for a knife attack was ‘high’… a predicted tragedy

I committed the crime 70 minutes after meeting my probation officer... Electronic supervision limitations

Expert: “It is not managed properly… There is an urgent need to improve systems such as ‘civil entrustment’”

(Incheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Eun-ji = A former convict in his 50s for attempted murder, who had previously been judged to have a high risk of reoffending, committed a tragedy by stabbing eight citizens in the middle of the city.

Experts are of the opinion that the disaster was caused by a superficial electronic surveillance system and the absence of a preemptive mandatory quarantine system.

According to the legal community on the 14th, Mr. A (59), who indiscriminately brandished a weapon at a large commercial facility in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, was indicted on charges of attempting to murder his ex-wife in August 2015 and was sentenced to four years in prison.

At the time, he was judged to be at a 'high' level with a total score of 14 on the Adult Recidivism Risk Assessment Scale.

As a result of applying the Psychopathy Screening Tool (PCL-R), the risk of reoffending was judged to be at a 'medium' level (total score of 15 points).

The court also considered that there was a risk of recidivism of murder crimes considering the past criminal history and circumstances after the crime, and ordered Mr. A to wear a location tracking electronic device (electronic anklet) for 10 years after release from prison (until February 23, 2029).

However, even when he was wearing an electronic anklet, there were no effective measures to prevent Mr. A from reoffending.

On the morning of the crime, the probation officer met with Mr. A for 35 minutes and had lunch to guide and supervise him. However, just 70 minutes after the probation officer's meeting, Mr. A brandished a weapon at an unspecified number of citizens.

He had already been fined four times for violating the regulations prohibiting going out late at night (00:00 to 6:00 a.m.) from January 2021 to May 2022.

Experts agree that wearing electronic anklets and the current probation system alone are not enough to prevent those at risk of recidivism from deviating.

Lee Su-jeong, a professor of criminal psychology at Kyonggi University, said, "Currently, the number of probation officers is very small. In a situation where each person is in charge of 20 high-risk groups, such as repeat offenders of murder or sexual offenses, and meets at most once a month, it is difficult to say that proper management is actually being carried out."

He continued, "In our country, criminal measures such as emergency hospitalization by the police only work when a crime occurs," and added, "In foreign countries, if a person has a serious mental illness at the time of release, there is a 'civil consignment' system in which the person is hospitalized in a private hospital and treated until symptoms are alleviated. Such improvements are also needed."

Lee Woong-hyuk, professor of police department at Konkuk University, pointed out the limitations of the physical surveillance network, saying, “An electronic anklet is not a machine that prevents people from committing crimes when placed on them.”

Professor Lee pointed out, "Compared to developed countries, our country has more than four times as many cases per probation officer, so the quality and professionalism of probation inevitably declines. We must also pay attention to why Mr. A immediately committed such an act of aggression even after consulting with the probation officer."