The "Living Lab" for policing that inspects public safety in Pusan National University (PNU) with university students and researchers has been conducted for the first time in South Korea. They diagnosed that the level of public safety in and outside of the campus was not high enough and pointed out the need for additional safety facilities and promotion on how to use them. 

"Living Lab" is one of the problem-solving methods centered on consumers and the field and looks for solutions to social issues in people's lives. The Busan Metropolitan Police Commission announced that it would be the first in the country to implement the Security Living Lab to find a solution to the public's demand for security. However, Jeong Hye-Jin (Prof. of Science of Public Administration, PNU) has led the security Living Lab before the Commission, becoming the first case in the nation. Prof. Jeong said, "This Safety Living Lab is meaningful, given that it constantly improves the inconveniences in everyday life from the perspective of customers, not from the perspective of suppliers."

Prof. Jeong, along with Oh Young-Sam (Prof. of Social Welfare Studies, Pukyung National University (PKNU)), Huh Won-Bin (Prof. of Social Welfare Studies, PKNU), and six undergraduates and graduate students from PNU studied the safety level of the PNU Busan Campus for a month since March 8th. On April 5th, they opened a seminar at the Society Building in PNU and shared their one-month-long study result. The presenters especially adopted the "photo voice" method, showing the photos they took and expanding ideas based on them.

They, as a result, concluded that the level of security felt inside and outside PNU was not high. Firstly, they noted that students have low awareness of the Security Poles. A Security Pole is a secure facility that combines emergency bells, infrared CCTVs, and warning lights. When the button on the Security Pole is pushed, the camera begins to record the area, and it connects to the security corporation "S-1." However, it has been found that the majority of students do not know how to use the Security Pole or even of its existence. One of the participants at the seminar, Jeong Chae-Yoon (pseudonym) mentioned, "Only now do I know the existence of the facility after the 'photo voice' activity. Another problem is that the system is not working properly.”

The seminar also criticized the small number of CCTVs and fewer streetlamps, which leads the campus to be darker. Another participant Lee Sae-Yeon (pseudonym) said, "With insufficient CCTVs, it is hard to collect evidence in the event of a crime. As people feel much safer when CCTVs are operating, the installation should be expanded throughout corridors. Also, Jo Hyun-Seo (pseudonym) said, "Since darkness has the greatest impact on the level of security felt, expansion of CCTVs installation in the dark alleys is the most basic and essential CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design).”

Additionally, questions about if the "emergency bells" in school toilets have notable utility, have also emerged. The "emergency bell" in every compartment of the toilets in PNU says, "Press the button in the case of emergency." However, Yang Ji-Min (pseudonym) said, "When an acquaintance accidentally rang the bell, nothing happened. It could be a temporary error, but I was worried the bell would be useless when a real crime occurs. Lots of toilets with a poster saying women's safe toilets promote regular hidden camera detection work, but, in fact, the detection work has not been conducted periodically or has been done roughly.”

The research team is discussing the installation of a new hologram-designed Security Pole in light of the low perception and utility of the existing Security Pole. Prof. Oh said, "The three-dimension Security Pole that we are discussing now immediately reports to the security company when the floating mark or letters are touched in an emergency case. This has a low operational cost, high visibility, and it is easy to change the letters."

Reporter Shin Yu-Jun

Translated by Channel PNU