• Korean Security Journal
• /
• no.45
• /
• pp.221-242
• /
• 2015

Verification for the causality of factors affecting fear of criminal victim which has a bad influence on the senior's quality of life and directions to prevent the crimes against the elderly have been suggested. This study proves the applicability for fear of crime to old people especially based on risk interpretation model consisting of perceived risk of crime, behavioral response and fear of crime. Analysis results are as follows. First, disorder factors as social characteristics showed statistically significant influences on perceived risk of crime, behavioral response and fear of crime. Second, direct experienced crime victimization only affected perceived risk of crime while indirect experienced crime victimization had an effect on perceived risk of crime and fear of crime as well. Third, perceived risk of crime influenced fear of crime. Fourth, perceived risk of crime was concerned with fear of crime. Fifth, behavioral response was affiliated with fear of crime. These results reveal that risk interpretation model can be applied to senior's fear of crime. Moreover, disorder factor as social characteristic and experienced crime victimization as individual characteristic help the elderly perceive the risk of crime, bring behavioral response. Consequently, they play a role of factors affecting fear of crime. It is emphasized that support policy is required for the elderly who had experienced crime and stabilization of community environment if necessary to improve the quality of life.

• Korean Security Journal
• /
• no.41
• /
• pp.387-408
• /
• 2014

South Korea already became an aging society, and is now in the process of becoming an aged society. With increasing elderly population, elderly safety issues such as traffic accidents and elderly suicides are becoming important problems. Elderly victimization are increasing, and elderly safety accident is also becoming an imporotant social problem. The police is doing various activities for elderly safety. The police is conducting programs for the elderly, such as a prevention program for fraud against elderly, and safety checks and traffic safety education for preventing elderly traffic accidents. Also, there's a program of providing regular visits for a lone elderly, expansion of CCTV network and fingerprint registration to prevent elderlies with Alzheimer's disease going missing. However, these programs are not done on a national scale, but rather limited to local police stations. The purpose of this study is to seek police roles for enhancing elderly safety, due to lack of police activity in this area. Recommendation for police roles in enhancing elderly safety is to first conduct routine crackdowns on fraud against elderly and also conduct education programs for preventing fraud. Also, crimes such as elderly abuse is lead by elderly protection agencies, but considering elderly abuse is a crime, the police should take a leading role. Also, to prevent elderly suicide, meticulous management of elderlies with high suicide risk is necessary, and elderly protection areas should be designated to prevent traffic accidents. Also, elderlies should be induced to turn in their driver's license. To conduct these matters of elderly safety, an organization exclusively charged with elderly safety is necessary. Elderly safety is a broad concept, and since police alone cannot handle the task of ensuring elderly safety, the police should take on a leading role in cooperative efforts with various institutions of the government, non-profit organizations and the community to establish a social saftey net for elderly safety.

• Korean Journal of Forensic Psychology
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.121-145
• /
• 2022

The current study applied the random forest algorithm to Korean crime victim survey data collected biennially between 2010 and 2018 to explore the relationship between crime/victim characteristics and the victim's criminal damages. A total of 3,080 cases including gender, age (life cycle stage), type of crime, perpetrator acquisition, repeated victimization, psychological damage (depression, isolation, extreme fear, somatic symptoms, interpersonal problems, moving out to avoid people, suicidal impulses, suicide attempts), and emotional changes after victimization (changes in self-protection confidence, self-esteem, confidence in others, confidence in legal institutions, and respect for Korean legal system/law) were analyzed. Considering the features of data that are difficult to apply traditional statistical techniques, this study implemented random forest algorithms to predict crime and victim characteristics using the victim's criminal damages (psychological damage and emotional change) and selected good predictors using VSURF function in VSURF package for R. As a result of the analysis, it was confirmed that the relationship between the type of crime and depression, extreme fear, somatic symptoms, and interpersonal problems, between perpetrator acquisition and somatic symptoms and interpersonal problems, and between repeated victimization and changes in respect for Korean legal system/law. Gender and life cycle stage (youth/adult/elderly) were found to be related to extreme fear and changes in self-protection confidence, respectively. However, more empirical evidence should be aggregated to explain the results as meaningful. The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to enhance the experts' knowledge and educate them on cases about the relationship between crime/victim characteristics and criminal damage. Strengthening their interview strategy and knowledge about law/rules were also needed to increase the effectiveness of the Korean victim assessment system.