Seoul Rolls Out Holographic Police To Cut Down On Crime

TaiwanPlus News

A district in central Seoul has come up with a novel way to deter crime. Holographic cops present a high-tech police presence to reassure community members wary of robberies and assaults in a neighborhood park. The roll-out has apparently had some positive results.

Transcript

00:00A year ago, police in downtown Seoul's Jong District came up with an unusual plan for

00:13augmenting patrols. They began projecting holograms of officers onto life-size cutouts

00:18to reassure residents wary of crime at a local park. The virtual officers pop up every two

00:24minutes between 7 and 10 p.m. throughout Jungdong Park and come with a wry warning to smile for

00:29the CCTV cameras. The holograms also come with an emergency button next to the cutouts just in case

00:35someone needs to alert actual flesh and blood police. The idea came from Officer Kim Soo-heng.

00:41She wanted to create a visible police presence to reassure friends and family worried about

00:46walking through the park at night. We project a video onto a life-sized acrylic signboard from behind.

00:52That way the holographic video is displayed across the whole figure from head to toe.

00:57The cop pop-ups have turned out to not be just for show either. They've apparently had a noticeable

01:02effect. According to city police records, crime in the area dropped by 22 percent between the start

01:08of the projections in October 2024 through May 2025, notably robberies and assaults.

01:15Since these crimes are triggered by sudden bursts of emotion, it's usually very difficult for officers

01:20to intervene beforehand, which makes prevention challenging. In that sense, the visual message

01:26that the police are always watching helped raise awareness and acted as an effective deterrent.

01:32But do residents in this Seoul neighborhood feel safer with the cutouts?

01:36It looks just like a regular person. And when I see it at night,

01:40since it really feels like there's a police officer standing right next to me,

01:44that makes me feel safer personally.

01:47Others may not be so certain. A British criminology professor says that despite the shimmering

01:52silhouettes issuing their tinny warnings from the shadows, crime could rise again once the novelty

01:57wears off. But for the time being, they're light in the darkness. Scott Wong and Tim Smith for Taiwan Plus.

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