경찰상 불심검문의 실효성 확보 방안에 관한 연구

Abstract

국문요약

경찰의 불심검문은 경찰작용에 있어서 위험방지분야, 특히 범죄의 예방과 범인검거를 위한 중요한 수단의 하나로서 기능하고 있다. 경찰의 위험방지 기능은 모든 국가에 있어서의 필요적 근본기능이라고 할 수 있다. 이처럼 경찰의 불심검문은 현대사회에서 범죄의 예방과 이미 발생한 범죄의 조기발견, 진압을 위해 실무상 중요한 지위를 차지하고 있음에도 법적으로는 그 근거에 있어서 상당히 빈약한 측면이 있다. 실제로 경찰실무에서 불심검문은 공권력과 인권의 접점에 위치하면서 경찰과 시민들 사이에 잦은 마찰을 유발 시키곤 한다. 경찰의 입장에서는 불심검문의 편의성과 효율성을 우선시 한 나머지 경우에 따라서는 시민의 기본권과 인권을 침해하는 사례가 발생하기도 하고, 시민들의 입장에서는 여전히 경찰의 검문을 불신하며 불심검문의 남용에 대한 불만이 있어 왔다. 이러한 점에서 현행 「경찰관직무집행법」은 오늘날 경찰의 현실을 제대로 반영하지 못하고 있는 것으로 보인다.

본 연구에서는 이러한 문제의식을 가지고 「경찰관직무집행법」의 핵심적인 규정이라고 할 수 있는 불심검문의 법적 체계와 현행 우리나라 불심검문제도의 실태 및 법률상·운영상 나타나는 문제점에 대하여 살펴보고, 이에 대한 실효성 확보 방안을 제시하고자 하였다. 우리나라 불심검문에 관한 법 규정이 가지고 있는 문제점을 파악하기 위하여 현행 법률과 법집행 현장에서 일어나고 있는 사례 등을 중심으로 미국, 독일, 프랑스, 일본 등 외국법제와의 비교법적 고찰을 통해 문제점을 파악하였다. 불심검문시 법집행 현장에서 일어나고 있는 가장 큰 문제점으로는 신원확인의 임의성에 따른 문제, 흉기 이외의 물건에 대한 소지품검사의 허용 문제, 자동차검문의 법적 근거 미비, 그 밖에 무분별한 일제검문검색과 전·의경에 의한 검문 문제 등을 들 수 있다. 이러한 문제점으로 인해 검문 불응 사례도 다수 찾아 볼 수 있었으며, 특히 신원확인을 하는 과정에서 발생하는 문제점이 무엇인지를 알 수 있었다.

이에 대한 실효성 확보 방안으로는 신원확인을 위한 강제조치규정의 신설, 흉기 이외의 물건에 대한 소지품검사 허용 금지, 자동차검문의 법적 근거 마련, 정복경찰관의 신분증 제시 의무 면제, 동행시간 단축, 공권력 경시풍조에 따른 강력한 법집행, 무분별한 일제검문 관행의 시정 및 근거규정 신설, 전·의경의 검문에 대한 규정보완 등 여러 방안을 검토해 보았다. 현행 불심검문제도의 가장 큰 문제점이 신원확인을 강제할 수 없다는 점을 고려할 때 신원확인 불응자에 대하여 신원확인조치에 대한 수인의무 부여, 경찰관서로의 연행 등 신원확인을 위한 최소한의 강제조치규정 신설에 대한 입법안을 제시하였다.

그러나 불심검문의 실효성 확보만을 강조한 나머지 인권을 침해하는 경우가 발생해서는 안 될 것이다. 경찰관의 불법·부당한 검문에 대한 견제 방안으로 불법한 불심검문에 대하여 시민·사회단체의 적극적인 감시와 통제가 필요하다. 이를 통해 시민들은 자신의 권리를 지켜 내고 공권력의 불법행위를 감시 할 수 있다. 또한 경찰관에 대한 형사 처벌 및 민사상 손해배상책임의 확대, 판례를 통한 불심검문의 구체적인 기준 확립과 사법통제로 불심검문에서 적법성의 기준을 구체화시켜 나가는 방법을 제안하였다.

경찰에 의한 공공의 안녕과 질서유지는 주로 범죄예방을 통해 이루어진다고 할 수 있다. 이를 위한 경찰의 활동 중 가장 중요한 부분을 차지하는 것이 바로 불심검문이라고 할 수 있는 바, 이러한 경찰의 활동은 시민의 자유와 권리를 침해할 수 밖에 없으므로, 시민들의 이해와 협조를 바탕으로 효율적이고 효과적인 경찰권을 행사한다면 더 이상의 인권침해문제는 발생하지 않을 것이다.|ABSTRACT

Police stop and question plays a role in preventing dangerous situations from happening, especially by functioning as an important measure for crime prevention and criminal arrest. And such preventive actions taken by police are one of the most essential necessities any country needs to have. However, for all its substantial importance in today’s modern society for the prevention, early detection and suppression of crimes, police stop and question has a considerable weakness in point of legal foundation. In fact, in actual police workplace police stop and question is situated on the border of two competing domains where governmental authority and human rights claim their own dominance, thereby sparking frequent troubles between police force and citizens. For instance, a police force may infringe on a person’s basic human rights and civil rights when it gives priority to convenience and efficiency of police stop and question. For this reason police stop and question continues to suffer from citizen’s distrust and raise a suspicion that the police force may abuse it. In this respect current ‘Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers’ does not seem to reflect the status quo of the police force very well.

With aforementioned problems in mind, this study looks deep into the legal system of police stop and question a vital regulation of ‘Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers’and examines its current condition and drawbacks in Korea. The study also seeks to find ways to secure its effectiveness in this specific context. In order to do so, the study uses a comparative method that utilizes examples drawn from several foreign legislations including the U.S., Germany, France and Japan.

Some of the biggest problems that occur when police stop and question is executed are those associated with the voluntariness in identification upon a request, inspections of personal belongings that are not considered lethal weapons, insufficient legal grounds for vehicle inspections, indiscriminatory inspections, and inspections by auxiliary policemen. There have been many cases where police inspections were refused by civilians. Furthermore, the study allowed the author to appreciate some potential problems that could emerge in the process of a background check by the police force.

As for the ways to combat these problems the study considers the following: establishing regulations for compulsory measures, excluding all non-lethal weapons from items to be inspected, establishing legal basis for vehicle inspections, exempting police agents in full dress uniforms from having to present theirs IDs, minimizing time spent in leading a person to a nearby police station, stronger law enforcement to counteract the current trend of belittling governmental authority, and establishing supporting regulations for, and rectifications of the current protocol for indiscriminatory inspections as well as those inspections exercised by auxiliary policemen. Currently, identifying oneself upon a police agent’s request is not compulsory in Korea. Considering the fact that this is arguably the most serious problem in existing policies for stop and question in the country, the author suggests a legislative bill that allows the police force to hold the disobeyers in custody either in a police station or, if necessary, behind the bars.

However, securing the efficiency of police stop and question may lead to a violation of basic human rights when an appropriate attention to the later is left neglected. In order to hold unjustifiable or illegal inspections in check, it is necessary to ensure that all observable inspections are under constant surveillance by relevant non-governmental organizations. This will allow citizens to protect their own rights and make sure that inspection protocols do not go beyond a legal boundary. Furthermore, the study discusses some specific measures that may help protect the civil rights such as: an implementation of policies that expands compensations for damages and criminal punishments of police agents who violated relevant laws, an establishment of a specific standard protocol for inspections through analyses of precedents, and that of a more concrete criteria that clarifies what is a legitimate police inspections.

It is through crime prevention that the police force relies mostly on to ensure public safety and order. It is almost unavoidable that the most important element in this activity, police stop and question, conflicts to some degree with citizens’ freedom and rights. The public’s understanding and cooperation along with more efficient and effective exercise of police power will help minimize the violations of the human rights.; ABSTRACT

Police stop and question plays a role in preventing dangerous situations from happening, especially by functioning as an important measure for crime prevention and criminal arrest. And such preventive actions taken by police are one of the most essential necessities any country needs to have. However, for all its substantial importance in today’s modern society for the prevention, early detection and suppression of crimes, police stop and question has a considerable weakness in point of legal foundation. In fact, in actual police workplace police stop and question is situated on the border of two competing domains where governmental authority and human rights claim their own dominance, thereby sparking frequent troubles between police force and citizens. For instance, a police force may infringe on a person’s basic human rights and civil rights when it gives priority to convenience and efficiency of police stop and question. For this reason police stop and question continues to suffer from citizen’s distrust and raise a suspicion that the police force may abuse it. In this respect current ‘Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers’ does not seem to reflect the status quo of the police force very well.

With aforementioned problems in mind, this study looks deep into the legal system of police stop and question a vital regulation of ‘Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers’and examines its current condition and drawbacks in Korea. The study also seeks to find ways to secure its effectiveness in this specific context. In order to do so, the study uses a comparative method that utilizes examples drawn from several foreign legislations including the U.S., Germany, France and Japan.

Some of the biggest problems that occur when police stop and question is executed are those associated with the voluntariness in identification upon a request, inspections of personal belongings that are not considered lethal weapons, insufficient legal grounds for vehicle inspections, indiscriminatory inspections, and inspections by auxiliary policemen. There have been many cases where police inspections were refused by civilians. Furthermore, the study allowed the author to appreciate some potential problems that could emerge in the process of a background check by the police force.

As for the ways to combat these problems the study considers the following: establishing regulations for compulsory measures, excluding all non-lethal weapons from items to be inspected, establishing legal basis for vehicle inspections, exempting police agents in full dress uniforms from having to present theirs IDs, minimizing time spent in leading a person to a nearby police station, stronger law enforcement to counteract the current trend of belittling governmental authority, and establishing supporting regulations for, and rectifications of the current protocol for indiscriminatory inspections as well as those inspections exercised by auxiliary policemen. Currently, identifying oneself upon a police agent’s request is not compulsory in Korea. Considering the fact that this is arguably the most serious problem in existing policies for stop and question in the country, the author suggests a legislative bill that allows the police force to hold the disobeyers in custody either in a police station or, if necessary, behind the bars.

However, securing the efficiency of police stop and question may lead to a violation of basic human rights when an appropriate attention to the later is left neglected. In order to hold unjustifiable or illegal inspections in check, it is necessary to ensure that all observable inspections are under constant surveillance by relevant non-governmental organizations. This will allow citizens to protect their own rights and make sure that inspection protocols do not go beyond a legal boundary. Furthermore, the study discusses some specific measures that may help protect the civil rights such as: an implementation of policies that expands compensations for damages and criminal punishments of police agents who violated relevant laws, an establishment of a specific standard protocol for inspections through analyses of precedents, and that of a more concrete criteria that clarifies what is a legitimate police inspections.

It is through crime prevention that the police force relies mostly on to ensure public safety and order. It is almost unavoidable that the most important element in this activity, police stop and question, conflicts to some degree with citizens’ freedom and rights. The public’s understanding and cooperation along with more efficient and effective exercise of police power will help minimize the violations of the human rights.