Electronic ankle monitor violations rise as officer shortages deepen

Police are facing a shortage of officers to monitor electronic ankle monitors, despite nearly 600 violations of relevant rules this year alone, data showed Monday.

According to the data submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Rep. Kim Han-kyu of the ruling Democratic Party, 599 violations were recorded between January and July this year, 590 of them breaches of curfew or stay-at-home orders.

The number of criminals monitored via GPS-tracked electronic anklets reached 5,273 as of July, up 9.24 percent from the end of 2025, and is expected to reach over 5,500 by year-end.

The number of field officers assigned to monitor them stood at only 234 as of August, according to the data. As of the end of July, each officer oversaw an average of 20.4 anklet wearers, compared to 17.1 in 2022.

In 2013, the ministry established special crime prevention units, pairing a probation officer with a martial arts expert, to analyze the movements of anklet wearers and catch violators.

The number of martial arts officers stood at 167 as of August, falling short of the official quota of 170.

Field officers also face growing physical threats, with seven probation officers and five martial arts experts assaulted by wearers in the first eight months of this year, according to the data.

Yonhap