Proactive crime prevention through problem-oriented governance: A case study of South Korea’s recent efforts to tackle new types of fraud

Police organizations around the world are facing new challenges never previously experienced or anticipated. This is largely due to the advancement in information and communication technology and prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, both of which are reshaping the nature of social relationships. In particular, the prevalence and frequency of online fraud are increasing sharply, resulting in social harm that is also expected to rise without proactive prevention efforts that emasculate criminals when they first attempt to approach potential victims. Drawing on literature for both problem-oriented governance and police innovation, this paper discusses the importance of developing the core capabilities of problem-oriented governance to address many complex, uncertain, and unprecedented crime-related problems that have arisen during the COVID era. Police organizations should continue to learn and adapt, and their anticrime efforts should involve stakeholders other than traditional police force members by developing a consolidated database system to make such efforts more efficient, effective, and sustainable.