I promised before on the ROK Drop that I would compile statistics from the USFK blotter reports of who is committing the most crime by unit. I apologize for how long it took for me to compile these statistics, but as I promised I went through all the USFK blotter reports for the past year and compiled by unit the number and what type of incidents were committed by the unit.
I originally had a perception that military policemen and Air Force security personnel committed an inordinate amount of crime. After compiling the statistics this perception is technically true for on post crime, but the MPs/SPs number of on post incidents was greatly inflated due to the arrest and conviction of six soldiers involved in the Percocet drug scandal. The MPs/SPs had a total of 11 incidents, but if you discount the 6 soldiers convicted for drugs their total becomes 5 incidents, which is about the same number of incidents committed by other branches. As far as off post crime the MPs/SPs were actually quite well behaved with only 2 incidents. So depending on how you look at it, you can draw your own conclusions in regards to if MP/SPs commit an inordinate amount of crime or not.
By far the most on post incidents is committed by support units with a total of 23 incidents. However, it is important to realize there is a very large number of support units in USFK and I foresee that the number of incidents is proportional to the amount of soldiers in those units. Something I found interesting was that the field artillery units had a slightly higher then normal number of on post incidents with 7 which six of them involving larceny. The number of on post incidents for field artillery was more then the tankers and infantrymen combined who had a total of six incidents between them.
It is interesting that the tankers and infantrymen are some of the most well behaved soldiers on the peninsula. Even off post the tankers and infantrymen are well behaved with the tankers having no incidents and the infantry 3 incidents with two of them committed by the same soldier of Beauty Shop Bandit fame.
So who are the biggest troublemakers on post? Well I determined that the combat arms branches had a total of 31 on post incidents and the combat support elements had a total of 39 on post incidents. It is important to remember there are more combat support units then combat arms units so really the rate of crime between the combat arms and support units is very similar. Off post is a similar story with 22 off post incidents committed by combat arms servicemembers and 26 off post incidents committed by combat support servicemembers.
To add some further clarification on who is committing crime in USFK I decided to divide up the incidents between Area 1 and other Areas. For those that don’t know Area 1 describes the area of land encompassing USFK units stationed in the region of Uijongbu and Dongducheon, which is primarily 2nd Infantry Division units. Determining this statistic is a little difficult to divide up because some of soldiers that committed incidents are only identified by their battalion or even brigades. Some battalions and brigades have smaller units in Area 1 while the remainder of the unit is stationed in another area. So this number is probably a little bit off, but even so it clearly shows where the majority of crime both on and off post in USFK is committed.
In Area 1 a total 22 on post incidents were committed in the last year and in the other areas a total of 48 incidents were committed. So over twice the amount of on post crime is committed in other areas when compared to Area 1. When you take into account that the other areas have about twice the population of Area 1 this shows that the rate of crime is really about the same.
The off post crime though is another story. In Area 1 there was a total of 9 off post incidents. Most of these incidents were fairly petty. Outside of Area 1 a total of 39 crimes were committed to include a rape, robberies, a bunch of DUIs, and hit and runs. It is pretty clear that outside of Area 1 at least off post there is a significant number of incidents happening to include some serious crime. The biggest off post offenders by far are the servicemembers in the Aviation Brigade for whatever reason. They have a total of 13 crimes single handedly beating out the number of Area 1 off post incidents all by themselves. The crimes they committed are actually quite serious to include a number of assaults and DUIs.
Overall though the fact that non-Area 1 units are committing so much off post crime, seems to run counter to the perception that GIs in 2ID especially Uijongbu cause the majority of incidents in USFK. A lot of this perception is caused by high profile incidents such as those involving taxi cabs and the infamous grandma rape case that happened a year and a half ago involving a 2ID soldier.
However, when you really think about it the fact that non-Area 1 units are committing the most off post crime makes sense because they have more freedom, which means more contact with the general Korean population to include being able to drive cars which servicemembers in 2ID cannot do. These extra freedoms and contact with the general population is sure to cause more incidents between Koreans and servicemembers. Unfortunately I think these statistics also support the argument of many commanders that increased restrictions decrease the number of off post incidents and will make commanders hesitant to remove restrictions such as the curfew.
I think it is also important to point out the prior work I have done compiling crime statistics that show that USFK soldiers despite the number of off post incidents I have listed, actually committed less crime per capita then the general Korean population.
I’m sure there is even more information that commenters may be able to draw out of these statistics so I highly encourage everyone to go through them and determine whatever other conclusions and trends they can see. If you see any errors or corrections please leave a comment so I can adjust the statistics because I want to make sure these are as accurate as possible. If you want to read more about each incident click the link of the month of the incident to access the USFK blotter report for that month that describes the incidents. The complete statistics are below the fold:
On Post
FIELD ARTILLERY
HHB/1-38FA:
Larceny – April 2007
C/1-38FA:
AWOL – May 2007
HHB/1-15 FA:
Larceny/AWOL – June 2007
B/1-15FA:
Larceny – May 2007
HHB/6-37 FA:
Larceny – October 2007
Larceny/Drugs – October 2007
B/6-37 FA:
Larceny/AWOL – November 2007
Total Incidents: 7
AIR DEFENSE
E/1-2 ADA:
Drunk disorderly – June 2007
Total Incidents: 1
INFANTRY:
HHC/2-9 IN:
Child porn – May 2007
Larceny – February 2008
A/2-9 IN:
Larceny/AWOL – November 2007
Total Incidents: 3
ARMOR:
A/1-72 AR:
Assault – July 2007
Assault – July 2007
Assault – September 2007
Total Incidents: 3
AVIATION:
D/1-2 AV Bn:
Child Porn – June 2007
HHC/3-2 AV Bn:
Adultery – June 2007
Larceny – February 2008
4-2 AV Bn:
Adultery – December 2007
Adultery – January 2008
HHC/2 CAB:
Larceny – July 2007
Total Incidents: 6
MILITARY POLICE & SP’S:
8th Security Force Sqd:
AWOL – June 2007
51st Security Sqd:
Drugs – September 2007
Drugs – October 2007
Drugs – October 2007
Drugs – October 2007
Drugs – November 2007
Drugs – November 2007
HHD/94 MP Bn:
Indecent assault – June 2007
Larceny – October 2007
557 MP Co:
Assault – September 2007
188 MP Co:
Assault/Adultery – December 2007
Total Incidents: 11
Combat Arms Branches Total: 31
SUPPORT UNITS:
348 Quartermaster Co:
Larceny – October 2007
HHC/302 BSB:
Indecent assault – May 2007
A/302 BSB:
Adultery – September 2007
B/302 BSB:
Assault – May 2007
F/302 BSB:
AWOL/drunk disorderly – May 2007
HSC/602 ASB:
Assault – September 2007
Rape – December 2007
B/602 ASB:
Child Porn – October 2007
520 Maint. Co:
Assault – November 2007
Drugs – February 2008
A/1BSTB:
Child Porn – May 2007
HHC/501 Sustainment Bde:
Assault – May 2007
51st LOG Readiness Sqd:
Larceny – October 2007
51st Munitions Sqd:
Rape – January 2008
4th Chemical Co:
Rape – May 2007
Drugs – October 2007
19 AG Co:
Stealing mail – May 2007
Larceny – December 2007
Drugs – January 2008
595 Maint. Co:
AWOL – August 2007
8th Civil Eng. Sqd:
Larceny – September 2007
HHD/6 ORD Bn:
Rape – September 2007
46 Transportation Co:
Assault – February 2008
Total Incidents: 23
HEADQUARTERS:
HHC/EUSA:
Improper Relationship – May 2007
Larceny - November 2007
Assault – January 2008
HHC/ US Army Troop Command EUSA:
Larceny – October 2007
HHC/1HBCT:
Larceny – October 2007
HHC/1BSTB:
Attempted Rape – November 2007
3BCD:
Adultery – March 2008
Total Incidents: 7
SIGNAL:
275 SIG Co:
Drunk disorderly – July 2007
HHD/36th SIG Co:
Adultery – January 2008
A/304 SIG Bn:
Larceny – October 2007
51st Comm. Sqd:
Larceny – July 2007
Total Incidents: 4
MEDICAL UNITS
629 Medical Co:
Computer fraud – December 2007
121 Hospital:
Drugs – January 2008
Drugs – February 2008
Indecent Act – March 2008
TMC/8th Fighter Wing:
Rape – February 2008
Total Incidents: 5
Total Non-Combat Arms Incidents: 39
Off Post
FIELD ARTILLERY
HHB/1-38 FA:
Fraud – May 2007
F/1-43 FA:
DUI – June 2007
Total Incidents: 2
AIR DEFENSE
2-1 ADA:
Rape – September 2007
Larceny - October 2007
Total Incidents: 2
AVIATION
2-2 AV Bn:
Indecent assault – December 2007
Indecent assault – December 2007
Robbery – December 2007
Assault – April 2007
Assault – April 2007
3-2 AV Bn:
DUI – April 2007
Assault – April 2007
DUI – November 2007
4-2 AV Bn:
DUI – March 2008
3-2 GSAB:
DUI – October 2007
602 ASB:
DUI – October 2007
Obstruction – February 2008
Obstruction – February 2008
Total Incidents: 13
INFANTRY
HHC/2-9 IN:
Assault – November 2007
Trespassing – January 2008
Robbery – March 2008
Total Incidents: 3
MILITARY POLICE/ SP’s:
188 MP Co:
DUI – August 2007
249 MP Co:
Bodily injury – January 2008
Total Incidents: 2
Total Combat Arms Incidents: 22
SUPPORT UNITS
595 Maint. Co:
Assault – May 2007
Assault – May 2007
HHC/DSTB:
Prostitution – September 2007
702 BSB:
Assault – December 2007
Assault – December 2007
Total Incidents: 5
HEADQUARTERS
HHC/EUSA:
DUI – May 2007
DUI – July 2007
Trademark Violation – July 2007
Assault – February 2008
Assault – February 2008
NCO Academy/ EUSA:
Bodily Injury – November 2007
US Naval Forces Korea:
DUI – January 2008
Special Operations Command Korea:
DUI – February 2008
51st MOS:
Bodily Injury – March 2008
SUSLAK:
Assault – June 2007
Total Incidents: 10
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
524 MI Bn:
DUI – April 2007
Trademark Violation – July 2007
527 MI Bn:
Bodily injury – June 2007
3rd MI Battalion:
Hit & Run – March 2008
Total Incidents: 4
SIGNAL
HHC/1 SIG Bde:
Larceny – November 2007
293 SIG Co:
DUI – July 2007
14 SIG Detach:
Bodily Injury – September 2007
Total Incidents: 3
MEDICAL UNITS
168 Medical Battalion:
Bodily Injury – August 2007
Bodily Injury – December 2007
Indecent Act – March 2008
16 Medical Bn:
Bodily Injury – September 2007
Total Incidents: 4
Total Non-Combat Arms Incidents: 26
Overall Totals:
Combat Arms Incidents: 53 Incidents
Non-Combat Arms Incidents: 65 Incidents
Area Totals:
Total Area 1 Incidents On Post: 22
Total Other Areas Incidents On Post: 48
Total Area Incidents Off Post: 9
Total Other Area Incidents Off Post: 39
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9:57 am on April 30th, 2008 1
Good thing you didn’t cover ADA from 2005-2007.
11:43 am on April 30th, 2008 2
Great work GI. I have a question though, how many incidents happened in off limit areas or after curfew off post. I think those are important considerations for whether or not the curfew is effective.
5:58 pm on April 30th, 2008 3
Mark,
It’s nice to see that you didn’t bring all the Area II and III crime with you to Area I. That just proves people can change.
3:11 pm on May 2nd, 2008 4
While I think it is good to point out that the US Soldier crime rate is lower than the Korean crime rate, it is also worth remembering that the US Military does not accept applicants who are mentally ill or convicted criminals… so we would expect the crime rate to be lower.
Would be interesting to compare the data if controlled for those variables. I expect the US Soldier crime rate would remain low anyway. But would be interesting.
10:55 am on May 4th, 2008 5
Hamilton the court martial results occasionally have violating an order as part of the charges brought against the soldier which could be a curfew violation though you can’t know for sure.
It is also impossible to tell where the incidents happened except for the few high profile ones that were mentioned in the Stars & Stripes. I don’t have the information available to declare that off limits areas is where the majority of incidents happened.
In my opinion the majority of incidents happen in the ville areas but the high profile ones that hit the Korean media happen in the off limits areas.
As far as Notlob’s comment there are some people who join the military with criminal records that required a waiver to join:
http://forwarddeployed.com/2008/04/21/context-of-recruiting-convicted-felons-into-the-us-military/
There are also plenty of people with mental problems that enlist as well, they were just never hospitalized for it prior to enlisting. I know because I have chaptered more soldiers out of the military for mental issues then for any other reason; even for being overweight.
I do believe that their should be an expectation of a low crime rate for US servicemembers in Korea which USFK does have; my argument is against the belief that USFK should have no criminal incidents which is unreasonable for USFK which has about 40,000 soldiers, civilians, and dependents living in Korea.
8:18 pm on May 11th, 2008 6