Number of crimes committed by USFK remains steady: report

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- The number of crimes committed by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has remained steady on an annual basis over the last five years, a report by the National Police Agency said Tuesday.

The findings submitted ahead of the parliamentary audit showed 1,092 criminal
cases being tallied against U.S. soldiers and their dependents for an average of
192 incidents per year.
The report compiled from data taken from 2003 to August of this year showed that
116 crimes were committed in the first eight months of 2008 by USFK personnel,
versus 191 for the whole of 2007.
It showed numbers for 2005 reaching 200, while in 2003 there were 195 cases,
indicating that crimes committed by servicemen stationed in the country remained
relatively unchanged.
The majority of crimes involved the use of unlawful force, making up 61.2 percent
of all cases, followed by theft at 18.1 percent.
Rape and burglary accounted for less then 4 percent each, while there has not
been a murder involving USFK personnel since 2004.
The police report also said that of the total, 34.6 percent or 378 cases involved
dependents, not military personnel.
yonngong@yna.co.kr