Difference of Perception for Job Satisfaction, Competency, and Stress among Police Officers who Deal with Stalking

This study analyzed differences in police officers’ perceptions of stalking-related work by function and rank, focusing on job satisfaction, job competence, and job stress. To this end, 368 survey responses collected by the Korean National Police Agency in 2022 were analyzed. Results indicated that APO and women and juvenile investigations showed more negative perceptions than other functions, while local polices showed negative perceptions only regarding job competency. By rank, senior inspectors and above tended to have more positive perceptions, whereas inspectors and below showed more negative attitudes. Based on these findings, improvements are needed to reduce the workload of APO and women and juvenile investigation officers, such as reorganizing personnel and duties based on thorough job analysis, rational division of labor, and recruitment of additional staff. In addition, team leaders at the rank of senior inspector and above are expected to actively support team morale and investigative capacity by guiding field-level decision-making, allocating roles, and overseeing manual familiarization. For frontline local police officers, practical training should be emphasized, including procedures for responding to 112 emergency calls, understanding stalking through recent case law, and using risk assessments.