Is a Decentralized Police Organization a Better Option in a Modern Democratic Society? A Case Study From South Korea

• Author: Sungil Han,Jennifer LaPrade,EuiGab Hwang
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10986111211042034
• Published date: 01 September 2022
• Date: 01 September 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Is a Decentralized

Police Organization a

Better Option in a

Modern Democratic

Society? A Case Study

From South Korea

Sungil Han

1

, Jennifer LaPrade

2

, and

EuiGab Hwang

3

Abstract

While western countries have had a decentralized policing model for many years,

some countries, such as South Korea, still employ a centralized, national police

department. Responding to calls for reform, South Korea launched a pilot program

and implemented a more decentralized policing structure in Jeju Island in 2006. This

study adds to the policing literature by offering the empirical comparison of a region

before and after decentralization of a police department. This study will examine the

intervention effects of police decentralization in Jeju, specifically related to crime

rates, crime clearance rates, victimization, trust in police, and fear of crime. Using

propensity score matching and interrupted time series analysis, this study found that

the decentralized policing intervention significantly reduced total crime, violent

crime rates, and property crime rates that lasted throughout the intervention

period, while improving crime clearance rates for violent crime, as well as reduced

fear of crime among residents.

1

Criminal Justice Department, University of Louisiana Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, United States

2

Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, United

States

3

Department of Police Administration, Kyonggi University, Suwon-City, Kyonggi-Do, South Korea

Corresponding Author:

EuiGab Hwang, Department of Police Administration, Kyonggi University, Suwon-City, Kyonggi-Do,

South Korea.

Email: flyhwang@gmail.com

Police Quarterly

!The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/10986111211042034

journals.sagepub.com/home/pqx

2022, Vol. 25(3) 364–386

Han et al. 365

Keywords

decentralization, community policing, Korean policing, police reform

As a monopolistic government organization, police are expected to maintain

public order and peace along with serving the diverse interests of citizens

(Bayley, 2001; Reiner, 1993). In order to maximize police effectiveness, reforms

in police organizations highlight democratic components such as autonomy,

legitimacy, openness, and transparency (Stone & Ward, 2000). Some scholars

argue that police departments must be “decentralized” to improve efficiency,

better address specific community concerns, and increase citizen satisfaction

(e.g., Oates, 1999; Tiebout, 1956). Decentralization in policing can be described

as a reform of the policing structure that transfers authority from the central

government to local municipal governments, shifts the government organization

from vertical to horizontal, and moves its focus from national issues to local

concerns (Cohen & Peterson, 1997; Lowatcharin & Stallmann, 2019). In con-

trast, centralized policing generally refers to a hierarchical large size police orga-

nization that is considered by some to be quick to respond to issues, efficient in

managing large scale security resources, and more focused in overall purpose

and crime-fighting strategies (Lowatcharin & Stallmann, 2017; McCluskey et

al., 2014).

A centralized police system has been operating in South Korea since Japanese

occupation of the country in 1910, however, the nation has begun to transform

its national police organization from centralized to decentralized to provide

catered security services to local communities, increase autonomy in local gov-

ernment, and reduce the potential for abuse of power by national authorities

(Moon, 2004). Despite this emerging shift, not everyone is convinced a decen-

tralized policing system is the better option. Opponents argue that even though

the decentralized police system is common in Western societies such as the

United States, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of decen-

tralization. Furthermore, the overall efficiency of the centralized organization

may provide greater value due to the potential waste of resources and confusion

with a decentralized system (Hwang, 2018). Therefore, there is a pressing need

for empirical research to examine the effectiveness of the decentralized police

system so that evidence-based policies can be better pursued.

This study contributes to the literature by investigating the effectiveness of

the decentralized policing system. Particularly, this study analyzes security out-

comes of the Jeju police department before and after the decentralized