이문제(里門制)와 조선 초기 범죄예방활동에 관한 고찰

초록

Confronted by the crime wave during the early Chosun Dynasty, the Chosun government attempted to control crime by means of various measures and policies including enhanced punishment and the reinforcement of patrol officers, which proved to be ineffective. Although King Sejo ordered to install the boxes for informers, enforce the resident registration, and increase the number of night watches, crimes were not reduced. The surge of crime and the failure of crime control policies paved the way for the creation of the Li-Mun system. The Li-Mun system mainly consisted of the main gate called Li-Mun an that was the only gate to enter the village surrounded with walls. The vigilantes from village residents checked all residents and guests at the main gate for the purpose of crime prevention. The Li-Mun system was peculiar in that it was maintained not by the government but by the residents, although the government regulated and monitored the residents' control of the system. The Li-Mun system was successful for crime control at least for the early period. The problem of government regulation and the residents' complaints from the shift system caused to prevent the efficient control of the Li-Mun system, engendering the resurgence of crimes. The increase of population in the capital also contributed to the failure of the Li-Mun system because a need for new houses and markets was so great that Li-Mun(a main gate) and the walls surrounding a village were collapsed. Since the Li-Mun system was based on complementary relationship between the government and the village residents, the system was different from other systems or measures for crime prevention and control at that time, which was significantly important in terms of police history. In this context, thus, the Li-Mun system seemed to be regarded as the prototype of community policing. The Li-Mun system was also important because it provided invaluable historical data for the analysis and explanation of the criminal justice system during the early Chosun Dynasty.

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