Hidden Camera Crimes
[Anchor Lead]
Crimes involving hidden cameras are reported every summer, when women tend to wear more revealing clothes. College students in Korea have embarked on eradicating such crimes on college campuses.
[Pkg]
Students dressed in yellow vests enter a lady's restroom. They carefully inspect the door frames, the trash bins and the spaces under the shelves. They check every corner using frequency detectors and infrared rays to make sure that no lenses have been installed in the restroom. The student council of Sejong University bought eight detectors last year to detect hidden cameras. The students conduct crackdowns once a week during school holidays, when many outsiders visit college campuses.
[Soundbite] Choi Woo-bin(Student Council President, Sejong Univ.) : "There are more crimes committed using hidden cameras. We launched crackdowns on our own to protect our students."
Some universities set up their own campus police squads or lend detectors to students.
[Soundbite] Women's Safety Sheriff : "We focus on checking all the gaps."
Female sheriffs are also busy these days inspecting public facilities in Seoul.
[Soundbite] Park Kwang-mi(Women's Safety Sheriff) : "I heard there are hidden cameras that are just a few millimeters big. They are small enough to fit inside a pen. They can be easily installed in small gaps in restrooms."
Crimes involving hidden cameras have been on the rise, surpassing 5,000 uncovered cases last year alone. Experts call for a ban on the possession of hidden cameras by ordinary people and tracking of those who purchase hidden cameras to eradicate crimes.