Dongducheon may soon have up to 200 more police officers sleeping in their cars with their police lights spinning if this proposal goes through:

Dongducheon city officials are close to getting their own police department, a move that could bolster the local force by more than 200 officers and strengthen its authority when investigating crimes, according to a city official.

The $15 million proposal currently before the National Assembly comes as subway and apartment expansions in recent years have brought more people to this small city north of Seoul, according to Ko Tae-seok, the director of the city’s general affairs department.

But alleged crimes by U.S. servicemembers — such as a rape accusation this summer involving a 2nd Infantry Division soldier — also fuel the need, Ko said.

“Security, public peace and order are in high demand in this neighborhood, especially due to the stationing of U.S. troops,” Ko said through a translator during a telephone interview Monday. “With poor security, people have reported many, many, many complaints.”

Dongducheon is home to about 7,500 to 8,000 soldiers in the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division at camps Casey and Hovey. The military bases occupy about 40 percent of the land in the city, according to Ko.

Currently, Dongducheon police work out of a precinct, or “box,” a substation that reports to higher-level police in the nearby city of Yangju, Ko said. All interviews and investigations for serious crimes are handled by Yangju police, who work about 30 minutes away by car.

A Dongducheon police station — built near or on a former U.S. military base called Camp Nimble — would provide more timely response, Ko said.

It also would allay the concerns of many of the city’s 90,000 residents. Earlier this year, more than 52,000 signed a petition asking for the expanded police presence, Ko said. City officials forwarded the petition to the assembly, the Korean National Police Agency and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Ko said.

The request now is before the assembly, which is expected to vote on the issue before the end of the year. If passed, construction on the station would begin in 2010 or 2011, Ko said.  [Stars & Stripes]

When asked about crime statistics involving USFK troops in Dongducheon Ko said the city does not keep crime stats of USFK soldiers.  This sounds like utter BS to me.  The Korean National Police Agency on thier website provides statistics of crimes committed by foreigners.  If the police in Dongducheon are not recording these statistics then they are not doing their jobs.  Could it be this city official doesn’t want to mention what the crime rate of the GI’s is because it may be lower then the average Korean crime rate?

I think the city is trying to play up the GI crime angle in order to secure the extra funding and jobs from the National Assembly even though the statistics don’t support their out of control GI crime claims.