Police set eyes on bill for independent probe rights

By Lee Hyo-sik

Police are seeking to remove criminal codes obliging them to follow instructions from the prosecution in criminal investigations.

The move is seen as a step to counter a new presidential decree, which strengthens the supervision of police by prosecutors. Under the decree, which took effect Jan. 1, police officers are banned from opening and proceeding with investigations without instructions from prosecutors.

An officer from the National Police Agency (NPA) said Sunday that police will ask lawmakers to submit an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law during a planned extraordinary session of the National Assembly in February.

``The planned revision will be designed to secure police independence from the prosecution over criminal investigation. The recent Presidential Decree clearly breaches the spirit of the nation’s criminal codes, which was revised in June 2011, to grant police officers greater authority,’’ the officer said. ``Many ruling and opposition party lawmakers agree with us that the law has to be revised again. We will try to have members of the public administration and security committee initiate the revision.’’

He added police are seeking to remove the first and third clauses of Article 196 of the Criminal Law. The first obliges police officers to follow instructions from prosecutors in all criminal investigations, while the third states how officers are directed by prosecutors is determined by the Presidential Decree.

``If the two clauses are erased from the criminal code, police will have equal rights with the prosecution in opening and proceeding with criminal investigations,’’ the officer said. ``We think police officers should be able to independently initiate and conduct preliminary probes into criminal cases. Based on the results of the initial investigation, the prosecution then can decide whether to end or continue probes by directing officers.’’

Last week, a dozen police stations nationwide rejected instructions from prosecutors to open preliminary probes into criminal cases, in protest of the disputed new rules. The NPA told regional offices not to follow instructions from prosecutors regarding any preliminary work.

In December, the Cabinet approved the revision to strengthen the supervision of police detectives by prosecutors on criminal investigations despite a wave of protest from police.

Before the amended rules, police were able to open and proceed with investigations without instruction from prosecutors on certain cases. They could gather intelligence, trace bank accounts, question suspects as well as conduct raids.

Police are now banned from engaging in such activities without permission from prosecutors. The government, instead, set up measures to enable police to reject instructions from the prosecution if they are deemed unreasonable and unfair in a bid to prevent prosecutors from abusing their authority.