[Edaily Reporter Nam Soyeon ] An online site has emerged where users can rate and review police stations and investigating officers, similar to how they do for restaurants or lodging facilities. The site allows citizens who have personally experienced the investigative process to rate the police’s investigative attitude, fairness, and speed of case handling on a 5-point scale and share their experiences with other users.

On the 5th, the “PoliceMap” website, where users share evaluations of police stations and investigators, is drawing attention online.
PoliceMap bills itself as a “citizen-participatory law enforcement evaluation platform.” It is characterized by providing publicly available information on police stations and investigative units nationwide, while also allowing users to leave evaluations based on their firsthand experiences with the investigative process.
Currently, the site contains information on 263 police stations and 2,688 investigative units nationwide, and individuals involved in cases—such as complainants, victims, and their attorneys—can submit evaluations of the investigative processes at each police station.
There are five evaluation categories: ▲Fairness and Neutrality ▲Compliance with Procedures ▲Attitude During the Investigation ▲Communication and Responsiveness ▲Promptness. Each category is scored on a 5-point scale, and users can provide specific details about their investigative experience along with their star rating.
Users can select not only the police station as a whole but also specific investigation units and individual investigators for evaluation. However, investigators’ names are partially obscured when published to protect personal information.
The PoliceMap team cited the need for citizen oversight of investigative agencies as the reason for launching the site.
They stated, “Since the adjustment of investigative authority, most cases begin and end at the police stage. However, there was no tool for citizens to observe and document that process,” adding, “PoliceMap collects structured evaluations from citizens who have directly experienced the investigative process, fostering trust in competent police officers and providing early warnings for recurring issues.”
The site also features a “Case Public Discussion” board where users can raise issues regarding police investigations. Users can share their experiences—such as delays in investigations, investigative procedures, evidence handling, and police responses—to bring these matters to public attention, and other users can express support for these posts. The original poster can later update the thread with progress reports, such as the outcome of their complaint.
In one instance, a complainant who had filed a fraud charge last March after failing to receive payment for goods posted a complaint about delays in the investigation and the case-handling process, noting that despite ample evidence, the prosecution office decided not to refer the case on the very day it was established.
Another user raised questions about the police’s decision not to refer a case for prosecution regarding a school violence incident that occurred at a middle school in Gangwon Province last August. The user noted that while the perpetrator’s actions—forcibly removing the victim’s glasses against their will—resulted in the glasses being broken, the police decided not to refer the case for prosecution on charges of property damage. This user asked, “Was property damage really such a difficult crime to prosecute?” and sought opinions from other users.
However, these posts represent the personal claims of the authors, and it has not been independently confirmed whether there were any issues with the actual investigation process.
PoliceMap not only evaluates investigative agencies but also provides guidance on legal remedies available to citizens. It introduces official procedures such as requests to recuse an investigator—which can be used if a citizen is dissatisfied with a police investigation or wishes to have the assigned investigator replaced—as well as appeals against decisions not to refer a case for prosecution and complaints filed through the National Citizens’ Petition System. The platform plans to provide statistics on requests to recuse investigators in the future, based on user evaluations and information obtained through public records requests.
The emergence of such a website is seen as a reflection of deep-seated distrust in police investigations.
In fact, the number of appeals filed by complainants against police decisions not to prosecute has more than doubled over the past four years.
According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop last July, there were 56,165 appeals filed against police decisions not to refer cases for prosecution last year. This represents an increase of approximately 2.1 times compared to the 27,262 cases recorded in 2021. As of June of this year, 34,001 appeals had already been filed.
However, concerns have also been raised regarding the website.
This is because, since the parties involved in the cases leave the evaluations themselves, it is difficult to guarantee objectivity; furthermore, depending on the content posted, controversies could arise regarding defamation or the disclosure of allegations against suspects.
In response, PoliceMap announced that it has established its own operating principles to prohibit posts containing personal attacks, invasions of privacy, or false information, and stated that it will take action to delete such content if violations are confirmed.
Furthermore, the platform specified that if an investigator or their representative requests the deletion or correction of personal information—such as a name—the content will be made private immediately upon receipt, and that legal responsibility for the posts lies solely with the author.