Gyeongsan enacts ordinance to bolster community policing support

Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, will enact an ordinance this month to support autonomous police affairs, aiming to deliver public safety services tailored to local characteristics and residents' needs, the city announced Tuesday.

The ordinance, which passed the city council last month, was drawn up after authorities found that operating the autonomous police system — introduced in 2021 — solely at the metropolitan level made it difficult to address residents' day-to-day public safety needs.

Under the ordinance, the mayor may establish and implement an "autonomous police affairs support plan" covering basic goals, operational direction, funding strategies and frameworks for inter-agency cooperation. The mayor may also request assistance from the chief of the Gyeongsan Police Station when necessary.

The city will also build a standing cooperation framework with the Gyeongsan City Council, the police station, the district education support office and the fire department, and may designate dedicated civil servants to oversee autonomous police affairs.

The ordinance further provides a legal basis for the heads of the relevant departments at the city and the police station to jointly form and operate a working-level consultative body to discuss public safety issues.

"The ordinance will enable organic collaboration between general administration and police administration, and I expect it to strengthen community-oriented public safety services that protect socially vulnerable groups, including women, children and the elderly," Gyeongsan Mayor Jo Hyeon-il said.