[KS] resources on USFK personnel-related crime
T.N. Park
tnpark at mac.com
Sat Aug 24 20:08:46 EDT 2002
Greetings,
For both academic and professional reasons, I am attempting to track down
some resources on statistics, background information, and other
data/information related to "crimes" allegedly committed by USFK (US Forces
Korea) personnel and others on SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) status.
When I first began looking for data at the request of a criminology
professor, I discovered an incredible dearth of objective or complete data.
Anti-USFK organizations for example, keep data primarily on cases that will
further their own cause, while other cases are neglected or ignored. Even
their estimates of USFK-related homicides and other violent crimes are
incomplete, because they exclude crimes committed against non-Korean
nationals (even if the victim is not under SOFA status), and they have no
data on murders of SOFA-related personnel by Koreans, Americans, or any
other nationals occurring in Korea.
USFK's own CID (Criminal Investigation Division) is generally equally
unhelpful, because, apparently, they worry about such statistics being
"distorted."
On-line searches of specific incidents tend to point to anti-USFK groups
such as usacrime.org, which, as I mentioned above, have serious shortcomings
in terms of academic usability.
If anyone could point out some resources, on-line or off-line, in English or
Korean, I would be most grateful. If there are quite a few, I could
summarise them in a later post.
Thanks in advance.
T'NP
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