A Keelung officer has criticized police for monitoring a repeat offender who has not recently committed any crimes, saying it is a waste of resources.
Police have been surveilling the man surnamed Hung (洪) for 12 hours a day to ensure public safety, a Keelung Police Bureau official said on Sunday.
Hung, who is over the age of 60, is known for his involvement in incidents around Dongming Road, people from the area said
Photo copied by Wu Sheng-ju, Taipei Times
While intoxicated, he has assaulted neighbors and yelled obscenities, and once jumped into a river, they said.
Over the past two years, Hung has been prosecuted 39 times and has been placed on court-mandated probation 43 times.
On May 22 last year, the city government and police bureau launched the “0522 Program,” which involved 12 officers sharing six shifts a day to monitor Hung while armed with an electroshock device for protection.
However, one officer said that Hung is receiving special treatment, and they often just watch him sitting in a chair drinking alcohol and eating, or sauntering around.
It is a waste of resources, as the police are needed for other tasks, the officer said.
After being watched closely for a long period, Hung lashed out, attacking an officer, and was sent to an alcohol detox center for one month, the officer said, adding that he then served 48 days in prison.
Officers thought the program would be terminated after that, but when Hung returned, the daily shifts continued, they said.
Six officers now share six two-hour shifts, and when Hung is in his home, they guard his front door, the officer said.
Officials said that as Hung does not have a mental disorder, he cannot be placed in a psychiatric ward for treatment.
As he has not caused trouble recently, prosecutors would not issue an order for preventive detention, they added.
Regarding Hung’s privacy, officials said that watching him does not infringe on his personal rights.
The new bureau chief believes it is necessary to balance police duties and public safety, and would discuss the issue with other agencies to try to find an alternate solution, officials said.
Lawyer Ko Lin-hong (柯林宏) said that when investigating, conducting a search or placing someone under surveillance, police must apply for a court order or warrant, so the 12-hour monitoring might infringe on Hung’s rights.
However, lawyer Fang Yen-hui (房彥輝) said that the monitoring of Hung has a basis in provisions under the Police Power Exercise Act (警察職權行使法) and the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), as he has not been taken into custody and no one is hindering his freedom of movement.
Police might be infringing on Hung’s right to personal privacy, Fang added.
Both lawyers said that if an offender has repeatedly assaulted others, local residents and police officers can take photographs and collect evidence for prosecutors to file an application to place the offender in detention.
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