문재인 정부의 자치경찰제에 관한 발전적 고찰

Abstract

In spite of the demand on the democratic decentralization of police power in accordance with the huge currents of autonomy and decentralization, Korean police have been maintaining a strong centralized national police system so far, it is a well-known fact that there is a political mechanical relationship among interest groups surrounding the redesign of the police organization. Rather than focusing on the effects of the autonomous police system on their vested interests, the heads of the local governments, the prosecutors, the police, and the political parties should be now more interested in raising the level of participation of the local residents in the public security. The autonomous police system should be recognized as a democratic and efficient institution that can provide close security services. In order to find out the autonomous police system suitable for our situation, this study first examined the autonomous police system which was discussed by the previous governments and the autonomous police system which is currently being implemented only in the Jeju region and then the proposal which was published on November 13, 2018. The self-governing police have the limited investigation right for the crime of sexual violence, domestic violence, school violence and other crimes by the proposal of the current government, which is a step forward compared to the Jeju autonomous police system. However, the accepted scope of crimes is so narrow that the police can’t conduct perfectly the role for the local residents. In addition to the range of appropriate investigation rights that autonomous police should have, it also provided opinions on how to secure the political neutrality of autonomous police and how to secure realistic finances on the assumption that no system can root properly without securing the related budget. Finally, it mentioned the importance of education and publicity to bring about the cooperation and support of the people and the police organization, which is the most important requirement for a successful soft landing in Korea.