By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Criminologists, city planners, civil engineers and policymakers should work together to re-design the community environment under which sex offenders can be more easily caught, a think tank said Monday.
"There are patterns in sexual crimes against children. For example, more children tend to be victimized by neighbors near school zones, underground parking lots and restrooms located in remote areas," according to the National Assembly Research Service (NARS).
In a paper, titled "Policy Recommendations to Prevent Sexual Crimes Against Children," the institute proposed installing closed circuit cameras and alarms in those areas and lighting underground parking lots, saying this would enhance the perceived risk of offenders being caught.
The measures are part of the so-called Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies, coined by criminologist C. Ray Jeffrey back in 1971 in his book of the same title.
CPTED strategies rely on the idea that if the perceived risk of offenders being caught is high, sexual crimes against children can be preventable.
The paper comes at a time when the nation has seen an increase in the number of pedophiles and the brutality of crimes against children in recent years.
According to a 2007 white paper published by the Legal Research and Training Institute, about 20,000 boys and girls aged 15 or less were victims of sexual homicides.
Last year, two elementary school girls, Hyejin and Yeseul, in Gyeonggi Province, were raped and killed by a serial killer.
This year, a 57-year old man named Cho Doo-sun, who raped and assaulted a nine-year old girl, received a 12-year jail term, sparking a backlash from the public for the "lenient" sentence.
"The British government has introduced the CPTED and the approach was found to be effective in reducing sexual crimes against children," Lee Jung-nyum, one of the co-authors of the paper, told The Korea Times.
Lee, a NARS legislative researcher, called on policymakers to consider the crime prevention approach.
Since July 2005, police have looked at a multi-disciplinary approach, laying out concrete guidelines that came into effect two months later.
One year on, police designated the city of Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, as a pilot city for the CPTED. The specific outcome of the pilot project is unavailable to date.
Introducing the CPTED requires lawmakers to revise several laws and introduce a set of supportive measures as well.
"Having no specific criteria on this new approach poses a challenge in putting the preventive measures in place," Lee said.
The parliamentary think tank said preventing children from becoming victims of sexual assault or abuse effectively requires a community-based effort.
"Children from double-income families are vulnerable to sex offense after school. Therefore, school authorities can consider running after-school programs for them," the paper said.
The institute said a variety of community-based preventive measures introduced in other countries, such as community policing and crime-stoppers, should also be considered to prevent sexual crimes against children.
In addition, the paper recommended a set of measures to punish offenders.