By I can’t say I am not surprised by this:
Six months after the weekend curfew in South Korea was shortened, a rise in sexual assaults and other crimes committed by U.S. troops could push U.S. Forces Korea to lengthen it.In a “Sharp Point” message posted Wednesday on the command’s Web site, USFK commander Gen. Walter Sharp said incidents of sexual assaults, aggravated assaults, assaults and disorderly conduct have increased since the curfew was shortened to two hours beginning Aug. 15. Under the current curfew, troops are required to be indoors from 3 to 5 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and U.S.-observed holidays. The previous weekend curfew was 1 to 5 a.m. Sharp’s assessment was based on a six-month review of the policy’s impact on troop behavior.
“This is unacceptable and we must act now to correct this trend,” he said. Stars & Stripes
You can read the full statement from General Sharp here on the USFK website.
The Korean police say there has been an increase in crime as well:
The number of crimes, including assaults, theft, verbal fights and fistfights, has spiked in Itaewon since the curfew was changed six months ago, according to an Itaewon police officer who was not authorized to speak to the media. U.S. troops frequently get into fights with English teachers, South Koreans and Africans, he said, but some of the violence is caused by non-military foreigners.
“We are too busy and worn out to control and respond to every trouble, with our limited work force,” he said.
The Korean police must be tired considering how often I see them sleeping in their squad cars in Itaewon.
I am willing to bet that this brutal incident from last month is what has caught the General’s attention in regards to the rise in USFK crime.
Anyway as I said when this curfew was first announced, incidents are going to happen and when you consider you added two more hours at night for drunk people to commit more incidents why be surprised in the statistical rise? If the command doesn’t have the fortitude to stick with the decision then the curfew shouldn’t have been removed in the first place.
I once again recommend my Warrior Pass idea instead of curfews that change whenever new commanders come into country.
General Sharp hasn’t officially changed the curfew, but he is given the soldiers fair warning with this upcoming mandatory weekend training:
His message also announced a 10 p.m. curfew on April 24, and a four-hour “Stand Down for Standards” training session the following day on behavior issues.
If the rise in violence continues after the training, Sharp will consider changing the curfew, USFK spokesman Dave Palmer said.
“They’re hoping this corrects the situation, and they don’t have to make a permanent change,” he said. (…..)
Sharp was unavailable for additional comment Wednesday, but his Sharp Point message announced a peninsula-wide curfew from 10 p.m. on April 24 to 5 a.m. on April 25. All troops will be required to attend the training session from 8 a.m. to noon on the 25th.
Topics covered during the training will include sexual-assault prevention and reporting, gangs in the military, the wingman/battle-buddy concept, and prostitution and human trafficking. Troops arriving in South Korea will receive the training as part of their inprocessing, and first-line supervisors will conduct additional training at least quarterly as part of their “Under the Oak Tree Counseling.”
I can remember the good old days when the only time we were called to duty on weekends was when the 2nd Infantry Commander General Honore would call an alert and units would roll out to the field with the priority of training in military related skills. Now units are recalled to duty on weekends with the priority of training in crime prevention techniques. It is amazing how times have changed.
Keep in mind that it isn’t just crime that is on the rise but so are traffic violations and DUI’s as well, probably because of the driving policy change that was announced at the same time as the curfew change. Will the driving policy be the next thing that is scrapped?
11:37 pm on April 3rd, 2009 1
It was a stupid idea to lengthen curfew on the two biggest party nights of the week. Why would you do that?
When I walk in the ville all I see are a bunch of stupid Americans who are dressed like they just came out of a slum. How can a commander honestly think they're going to act like adults in a place like this?
They didn't act like adults before the curfew extension, why would they act like adults with TWO MORE HOURS to cause trouble?
11:50 pm on April 3rd, 2009 2
There goes the Army guys…screwing everything up for everyone else.
12:09 am on April 4th, 2009 3
Why waste time with this "training"? Strong leadership is needed. If longer curfew is the problem – fix it. These trouble makers will respond only to a swift kick in the rear. Gang bangers do not respond to "training". The folks who are not causing problems probably are in bed well before curfew – why waste their time.
12:28 am on April 4th, 2009 4
Maybe they can also recite the scout pledge and have some classes on good citizen ship too.
1:22 am on April 4th, 2009 5
This is just embarrassing. I wish I could disassociate myself.
2:45 am on April 4th, 2009 6
And what if the problem has <a href="http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=returning+from+Iraq+more+likely+alcohol+assault" rel="nofollow">absolutely nothing to do with the hours of curfew?
4:14 am on April 4th, 2009 7
The problem is strongly related to the curfew hours, it's not an absolute. The USFK Commander is seeing a higher trend of crimes ever since he made his gamble. He was worried about it from the start and it's failed miserably. Is it a shame that a few folks have to spoil it for everybdoy? Yes, but that's always going to be the case in the villes here in Korea.
I remember Osan before there was a curfew and it wasn't bad at all, there were very few incidents. However, once Osan started getting Army folks it plunged into a ghetto. No offense to the Army folks, they do their job very well and there's ten-fold more teamwork in the Army than the Air Farce. It's just the Army brings an element that's not conducive to good behavior in the villes. Nobody can argue that.
4:19 am on April 4th, 2009 8
I'm wondering how an increase in sexaul assaults correlates with extended curfew.
If they are happening downtown between 1am and 5am, I can fully understand… otherwise…
4:39 am on April 4th, 2009 9
Chickenhead are you kidding me? Longer hours in the night + alcohol + in a crummy Korean GI "VIlle" + Low class people = Increase in sexual assaults and nearly every other type of mischief that can possibly be thought of.
5:47 am on April 4th, 2009 10
SK1NKo,
I am absolutely serious. Here are some thoughts on the matter.
I certainly believe there are many lower class people with less discipline (unless you believe paperwork is effective discipline for scumbags) in the military now than in years past. I don't know about the 6 month time frame, though. Was there a recent influx of waver-babies? The ghetto-gangster-pimpin-thug culture sure isn't being discouraged by a leadership that keeps talking about values and professionalism and such.
As for alcohol, having experience serving GIs during various curfews, from post-9/11 10pm to old-school 2am, I found the same amount of drinking going on… either they had to "hurry and slam it before curfew" or slow it down so they could last the night… but the goal of going home with the right amount of drunk was always met. My feeling was that an early curfew encouraged "extreme drinking". Alcohol is always the easy thing to blame for every evil… but it is almost always in conjunction with other factors.
The crummy Korean GI ville has always been there. There seems to be some correlation between the availability of affordable prostitution and sexual assaults. These days, all the evils of the USFK-encouraged human trafficking and prostitution monopoly exist but without the fun that used to be there. And it sure is expensive.
Word from the first sergeants after 9/11 was that there were a record number of sexaul assaults as well as many fights while everyone was on lockdown… effectively a full-time curfew.
Another idea is that many GIs have been going out into Real Korea to avoid the curfew. Of course they are causing problems (mostly irritation) but they are much less reported. It could be that they are now staying in the villes more… where a high GI on GI population density is more conducive to problems… as well as better reporting of fights and other drunk behavior.
It would be interesting to see solid facts and real numbers that would show the exact situation. USFK isn't very good at releasing those things because it frequently won't allow their pre-ordained conclusions to be so easily drawn.
6:00 am on April 4th, 2009 11
Dude, it really comes down to there is MORE TIME for these thugs to start trouble. A 0100 curfew is bad. A 0200 curfew is teetering on disaster. A 0300 curfew is a bunch of ghetto gangbangers tearing up the Ville. No offense but there wasn't just a recent spike in waiver babies or any of your other theories. It's simple, plain opportunism and the statistics don't lie.
2:36 pm on April 4th, 2009 12
I wonder how well the curfews are being enforced. The GI's I have partied with say they have to get back before curfew or stay out all night. I don't really know the procedure, but it seems as if there should be some way to ensure everyone returns to the base before curfew. Why are there MP's out patrolling the bars looking for soldiers breaking curfew? Shouldn't it be as easy as looking at a list to see who signed back into the base?
5:47 pm on April 4th, 2009 13
Basically, if you get caught in the ville after curfew you're probably going to get in trouble. A lot of it depends on how well behaved you are. Other areas besides the ville are better but still no guarantee you won't be caught. The MP's know all the good places to hide.
9:22 pm on April 4th, 2009 14
What makes Korea special? Why are there no curfews in Europe and only periodic curfews in Japan? Is a curfew an answer to the problem? First define the problem. What is the motive for every commander coming to Korea to adopt formulmatic routines? Too many politicians and too few leaders.
What passes for stars and bars these days is so disappointing and predictable that the adversaries up north probably have them scripted.
9:48 pm on April 4th, 2009 15
You are right that Army personnel do cause more crime. That is what the statistics show:
http://rokdrop.com/2009/02/25/2008-statistics-by-…
Everyone should keep in mind though that the crime rate for 2008 for USFK servicemembers is far below the average of the surrounding population and lower then what you see with US servicemembers in Okinawa.
9:51 pm on April 4th, 2009 16
What makes Korea special? The vast majority of troops come over here on a one year tour and greedy Koreans have setup HUNDREDS of sleazy clubs and bars just outside the gate.
I've seen somewhat perfectly normal people come over to Korea and ruin their careers and/or their lives getting involved in all the filth that's just outside the gate.
One, if not the ONLY way to control the madness is a strict curfew. The greedy Koreans will NOT cooperate.
2:10 am on April 5th, 2009 17
They do use the BIDS (Biometric Identification System) to bust people coming onto post after curfew. That's why you often see people shivering outside the gate at 0445 waiting for 0500 so they don't get busted.
5:50 am on April 5th, 2009 18
Well, I think a curfew isn't really the answer. You treat soldiers like kids, they act like a bunch of kids. Take them out of the shitty camp toens and they pretty much quit acting shitty. Japan and Germany don't have the problems associated like Korea because servicemembers live in decent places, have things to do, have cars and basically have lives in those places stationed for a few years on end. Here they're hemmed up with not being allowed to drive, nowhere for them to go, most don't want to be here in the first place so they really don't want to go somewhere and explore Korea.
I'm a tolerant guy in most things and noticed it's springtime by the fragrant smell of shit that wafts thru the air from Taegu all the way back to Pyongtaek while on my motorcycle as the farmers ready for the growing season. Big deal I grew up on a Hog and Cattle farm myself. I love that most of Korea is rural, I love riding my bike all over this country because it's fun! But that's the only real fun I have and keeps me sane, somewhat. I chose to live in the sticks far outside of the town around Humphries because it's a shithole. It also influences the GI's because of no personal transportation they really don't get out since most Americans here aren't allowed to drive. So they're stuck to the villes at the Hump, Osan and once in a blue moon Itaewon and they believe the rest of the country is the same.
We all know Prostitution will always be around. Soldiers are like everyone else and have a need for human contact, It's hard for a lot of guys to meet Korean girls since a lot aren't smoove ( sorry for the vernacular) or have not the interest nor the capacity to learn Korean to speak with the locals and resort to losing their shirt to the juicy's downtown without even a promise of getting a little nookie. We know that the ville's off the bases aren't overflowing with available and willing women folk and it's depressing to me to see joe's chasing after queens for a year or bar girls so I think the rules need to be nixed on letting them go rent them some "sexual release".
All I'm saying is that with the draconian rules, lack of backing them up with wall to wall counseling ( I believe that stupidity should be painful) a lack for freedom/freedom of movement, short tour status, lack of interesting activities, the women problem (of single women or cheap prostitutes) and a horrible camp town system spell a recipe for disaster the leads people down a path of self destruction.
6:20 am on April 5th, 2009 19
Wrenchbender, a lot of what you say is true. It really shocks me when I go down to the Osan Ville and it's so run down.
That's why I blame the Koreans for so much of the problem. With all the money the US pipes into this country you'd think they'd offer more than a complete pig sty right outside the gate. Before I came back to Korea several people said to me "Osan is so different now, they've closed the main road outside the gate and it's all paved over with trees, they're really trying to make the place more of a tourist destination".
So, when I came over here I see the reality of it all. The paved road is of total shit quality. There are beggars sitting around on cardboard boxes in the middle of the street. Along with the beggars and the few trees is where they dump their filthy TRASH! It's so goddamn despicable and wrong I just feel insulted walking near the ghetto.
8:12 am on April 5th, 2009 20
Uh? Why did you come back? Was it as a Vol or Non-Vol?
9:23 am on April 5th, 2009 21
The commander took a gamble on extending curfew because of the whining, and now the population showed that they couldn't handle it. When curfew is reinstated, you have no right to complain.
10:09 am on April 5th, 2009 22
Many bar owners liked the 01:00 curfew. Not that many people hang out after one to make it worth while. Of course as long as the possibility exists that even one GI might stmble in, the mama-san and all the girls stay on duty, ready to entertain the lads.
Of course they could just close at 01:00…
10:17 am on April 5th, 2009 23
Statistics do indeed "lie." Give me any set of datum and I will make it tell whatever story you want me to. More on that later . . . I'm off to see the Chief of Staff.
1:42 pm on April 5th, 2009 24
I would rather see a red light district, somewhat hidden from plain sight right outside military installations than the GI's going into juicy bars spending their hard earned cash on some flip just to talk. I bet that would quell a lot of the Bullshit that ends up on the blotter as far as sexual assaults go.
Curfew never bothered me. When in 2 ID land I used to do wether passes, Wether I got cought or not. I never did because you wouldn't see me. But I would go to towns far away where there was no possiblility of GI's or MP's in 2000-01. Back in 1996-97 Anjeongri here at the hump we had no curfew, we could do any damn thing you please as long as you were out of Non-SOFA bars at Midnight and SOFA bars at 2 am. That's cool because there were more women than you could hit with your flesh stick (ahaha). Back then the single girls in Pyongtaek, Choneon, Onyang (now Asan) and surrounding areas used to come here because the drinks were cheap, they had no covercharge to get in the door like Korean clubs and back then Korean girls were more receptive to Foreign men (IMHO). They could gather up their girlfriends and go slumming for GI's and have a good time too. I met a lot of nice girls that way, plenty of dates a few girlfriends. Now that's all gone and were left with what? Sure there were fights back then and other BS but it was mainly concerned with the 6th Cavalry and us Hookers defending our unit honors. As long as we won the fight nothing happened to us but we paid dearly if we lost.
Anyway, that's just an old soldiers views on then and now.
2:58 pm on April 5th, 2009 25
The attitude was totally different in the old days. For one you did not have female GI's. The only women for the most part were Korean. When they had Korean bar girls they had their own place to live in and this solved a lot problems along sexual lines. Now days the leadership wants to legislate your morals. As far as guys blowing thier money on juicy hos, how about doing something about some of these churches outside of military installations in Korea where GI's get brainwashed and give their whole paycheck to the collection plate.
3:35 pm on April 5th, 2009 26
That's what I'm saying. It's not really a curfew if you just have to stay out longer to get around it.
4:03 pm on April 5th, 2009 27
Isn't being outside the gate at 0445 a curfew violation?
10:43 pm on April 5th, 2009 28
OK – I can understand complaints about bars and Hookers but it seems to me that to complain about churches seems to be stretching things.
11:25 pm on April 5th, 2009 29
Yes, but the MP's and CP's are off-duty by then.
10:59 pm on April 6th, 2009 30
SK1NKO
"stupid Americans who are dressed like they just came out of a slum." Ha, Ha, Ha, That's because they did, just come out of a slum.
9:46 am on September 7th, 2009 31
I was in Korea before all the deployments when they had the old Warrior Pass policy (If you had a pass, you could be out or the one where you could be out in the street but not in the clubs). Not matter what, incidents will happen no matter what so don't attempt to compare time, volume and presence. I left Korea a few years ago and have visited a few times between my OEF deployments. Never saw too much craziness than usual, i had a leave form and could stay out all night. The US service member crime rate fails in comparison to some of the less obedient English teachers (ET's) mischief along with the standard Korean rap sheets. I have witnessed plain savagery on the hill when the Nigerians have ganged up on folks and the Korean Police wouldn't even get out of the squad car. It took about 4 of us to shew the animals away. Don't get me wrong, there are some soldiers who are morons with horrible decision making trends but we are not all bad.