Japanese police
The Japanese Police ( Japanese 日本 の 警察 , Nihon no keisatsu ) is a non-political organization under the supervision of an independent agency, the National Police Department , which is free from direct government control. The police are controlled by an independent judiciary. The police in Japan are generally respected and have considerable popular support in their work.
history
The Japanese government established a European-style civil police system in 1874 . It was under the central control of the Police Department in the Japanese Home Office and was used to quell unrest and maintain order during the Meiji Restoration . By the 1880s, the police had evolved into a national instrument of government control that also supported local political leaders and enforced public morals. It acted as a general civil administration that enforced official policy and thereby simplified the standardization and modernization of the country. In rural areas in particular, the police had great authority and were treated with the same mixture of fear and respect as the village chief. Their increasing involvement in political affairs was one of the foundations of the authoritarian Japanese state in the first half of the 20th century.
The centralized police system continued to take on more responsibilities until it controlled almost all aspects of daily life. This included the fire brigade and mediation in labor law disputes. The system regulated public health, business, factories, and construction. It issued permits and licenses. The 1925 Peace Maintenance Act gave police the right to make arrests for "wrong thoughts." A special area of the police force ( Tokkō ) was created to regulate the content of films, political meetings and election campaigns. The Military Police ( Kempeitai ), operating under the Army and Navy, as well as the Home Office and the Judiciary, helped the Civilian Police fight illegal political activities. After the Mukden incident in 1931, the military police gained greater authority, which led to friction with the civilian police. After 1937, the police directed the economic activities to secure the war economy, mobilized workers and controlled the transport system.
After Japan's surrender in 1945, the administration of the occupation forces retained the pre-war structure of the police for the time being until a new system was introduced and the Japanese parliament enacted the Police Act of 1947 . Instead of the Japanese proposals for a strong, centralized force that could deal with the post-war riots, the police system was decentralized (along the lines of the American model). About 1,600 independent local police were set up in towns and villages with more than 5000 inhabitants, and a National Land Police was organized for each prefecture. The control of the police was carried out by placing them under the jurisdiction of Public Security Commissions controlled by the National Public Security Commission in the Prime Minister's office . The Home Office was abolished and replaced by the less powerful Ministry of Internal Affairs. The police have been stripped of fire, public health and other administrative responsibilities.
When most of the American occupation forces were relocated to Korea in 1950–1951 , the 75,000-strong National Police Reserve was set up to support the regular police force during civil unrest. The pressure for a centralized system better suited to the political realities of Japan grew. The Police Act of 1947 was amended in 1951 to allow smaller communities to transfer their police force to the National Land Police . Most municipalities took advantage of this possibility, so that in 1954 only about 400 towns and villages had their own police forces. Under the Police Act, revised again in 1954, the restructuring was ended and an even more centralized system was created in which the local police forces were administered according to prefectures under a National Police Authority.
The revised Police Act of 1954 was in force until the 1990s and retained some important points of the post-war system, such as measures to ensure civil control over the police and their political neutrality. On the other hand, it allowed increasing centralization.
The system of leadership by the National Commission for Internal Security was retained. The state's responsibility for the maintenance of law and order has been clarified in this regard to include the coordination of national and local measures. The police means for information, communication and data storage are centralized. National standards for education, uniforms, pay, ranks and promotions were created. The rural and community police forces were abolished and integrated into the prefecture police force, which handled basic police affairs. Officials and inspectors in various ministries and agencies continued to hold special police functions assigned to them by the Police Act of 1947.
National organization
National Public Safety Commission
The aim of the National Public Security Commission is to guarantee the political neutrality of the police by protecting them from political pressure and ensuring democratic methods in the police administration. The main task of the commission is to monitor the national police authority . It has the power to appoint and dismiss senior police officers. The commission consists of a chairman with the rank of minister of state and five members appointed by the prime minister in consensus with both houses of parliament. It operates independently from the cabinet . The connection and coordination between the Commission and the Cabinet is ensured by the superior, who is also a member of the Cabinet.
National Police Department
As the central organization for the coordination of the entire police system, the authority defines generally applicable standards and guidelines. The management of the individual operations remains with the local offices. In the event of a national emergency or major disaster, the agency is authorized to take immediate command of the local police forces in the prefectures.
In 1989 the agency consisted of around 1,100 civil servants empowered to gather information, formulate and enforce national guidelines. The agency is led by a commissioner appointed by the National Public Security Commission with the consent of the Prime Minister.
The central office comprises the secretariat with departments for general operations, planning, information, finance, management, procurement and distribution of police equipment as well as five offices described below.
Police Administration Office
The administrative office deals with personnel, education and training, social affairs and the inspection of the units.
Criminal Investigation Office
This is responsible for statistics and the investigation of cases of national and international importance (here certain parallels to the FBI of the USA). The security department of this office is responsible for crime prevention, the fight against juvenile delinquency and environmental pollution. In addition, this office formulates and recommends laws on firearms, explosives, food, medicines and drugs.
Communications office
The communications office monitors the police communications system.
Tourist Office
The traffic office issues driving licenses, enforces traffic regulations and regulates traffic. Extensive road safety and road education programs are carried out at both national and prefectural levels. The Office's Expressway Division deals with the specific conditions of the country's growing expressway system.
Security agency
The security office formulates and monitors the security regulations. It researches riot control equipment and tactics, and monitors and coordinates the activities of the riot police. It is also in charge of the intelligence work related to foreigners and radical political groups. This includes investigations into violations of registration requirements for foreigners and the administration of entry and exit regulations. The office is also responsible for security in the event of national emergencies and natural disasters.
Regional public security offices
The National Police Department has seven regional police offices, each of which is responsible for a number of prefectures. They are run by directors and have an organization similar to that of the Central Office.
Police communication departments
The area of the capital Tokyo (because of its characteristics as a big city) and the island of Hokkaidō (because of its geographical location) are excluded from regional legislation and are more autonomous than the other local police forces. The National Police Department operates communication departments in these two areas to coordinate the national and local police forces.
Associated facilities
The headquarters of the Imperial Guard ( 皇宮 警察 本部 , kōgū keisatsu hombu ), the police college ( 警察 大 学校 , keisatsu daigakkō ) and the scientific research institute of the police ( 科学 警察 研究所 , kagaku keisatsu kenkyūjo ) are assigned to the police authority .
Prefectural Police
Of the approximately 258,000 police officers, around 97% belong to the 47 prefecture police forces ( todōfuken-keisatsu , in the singular dō-keisatsu , fu-keisatsu, ken-keisatsu , in Tōkyō-to but under the historical name Keishi-chō ; in English and other translations sometimes for -to, -dō, -fu and -ken differentiated as 1 "Metropolitan Police", 1 "District Police", 43 "Prefecture Police", 2 "City Prefecture Police").
The police of each prefecture is subordinate to the respective prefectural commission for public security ( to- / dō- / fu- / ken-kōan-iinkai ), whose members are generally controlled by the prefectural governor ( to- / dō- / fu- / ken-chiji ) with the consent of Prefectural Parliaments ( to- / dō- / fu- / ken-gikai ) are appointed. In prefectures that contain designated major cities or special districts , the Public Safety Commission has additional members and the major cities are allowed to participate in their nomination.
The police headquarters of each prefecture ( dō- / fu- / ken-keisatsu honbu , in the -to under the historical name Keishi-chō ) has departments corresponding to the offices of the national police authority. The headquarters are staffed by specialists in basic police functions and administration and are managed by a head appointed by the Prefectural Public Security Commission. In Tokyo Prefecture, the capital city prefecture, the national government must also approve the appointment. Each prefecture is divided into a police station (keisatsusho) assigned to the police districts to which the urban and rural departments ( kōban and chūzaisho ) are subordinate.
The budgets of the prefectural police forces, which mainly consist of staff costs, are financed from the prefectural budget, but are dependent on the national government police department, particularly for equipment. In addition, the prefectural budgets themselves are heavily dependent on subsidies from the national budget. The prefecture police operate independently; However, cross-prefectural and international activities are controlled by the national police authority, which also takes command in disaster and exceptional cases. The National Police Statutes and Regulations establish the strength and ranking of all local police forces and the locations of local police stations.
The coordination between the national and 45 of the 47 prefectural police authorities is handled by regional branches of the national police authority, which are responsible for several prefectures and, for example, each have a joint regional police school. The national authority maintains its own liaison offices for the Hokkai-do and Tōkyō-to police authorities.
Police stations (Kōban)
Among these stations, the Kōban sub-stations near major transport hubs, shopping centers and in residential areas represent the first line of police forces to the population. About 20 percent of the police force are assigned to the Kōban. They are manned by three or more police officers who work eight-hour shifts. They serve as the base for the foot strips and usually have sleeping and eating facilities for the officers on duty who are not on watch. In rural areas, the local police force is usually manned by a resident police officer who seeks to become part of the community and whose family often helps with official duties.
The officials assigned to the koban have precise knowledge of their area of responsibility. One of their most important tasks is to carry out a statistical survey every two years in every house in their area, in which the head of the household fills out a resident information card at each address with the name, age, occupation, business address and license plate number of the household members and the names of relatives living elsewhere .
The police register names of elderly people or people living alone who may need special attention in an emergency. It carries out surveys of local companies, records the names and addresses of the employees, which shops are open late and which employees usually work long hours. Participation in the surveys is voluntary and most citizens take part. However, an increasing part of the population regards it as an invasion of privacy.
The data obtained from the surveys are not centralized, but stored in the koban, where they are most often needed to find people. When a crime has occurred or an investigation is underway, this data is invaluable in providing background information on a case. Specialists from the district police stations therefore spend a lot of time sifting through the usually poorly organized Koban data.
Operational Police
Each prefectural police has special operational police units within its security departments. These units were formed after unrest at the Imperial Palace in 1952 in order to be able to react quickly and effectively to major public unrest. They are also used for order tasks at mass events such as celebrations, during natural disasters, and to reinforce the regular police if necessary. These units can be reinforced by specially trained regular police officers.
The military-style units are used in large numbers during demonstrations and violent riots. It is common practice for ranks of the emergency police to line the streets through which demonstrations pass. When the demonstrators become violent or leave the officially approved areas, the riot police try to shoulder to shoulder, sometimes 3-4 rows deep, to push the masses back with their hands. Individual actions are prohibited. 3-person units are sometimes used for reconnaissance missions, but most operations are carried out by groups of 9 to 11 platoons of 27 to 33 men and companies of 80 to 100 men. The front row is trained to open the rows to allow special forces to rescue captured police officers or tear gas attacks through. Each person is connected to the commander by radio via headphones in order to hear the commands that are given to the entire formation at the same time.
The police force is limited to the use of disciplined, non-lethal force and does not carry firearms. She prides herself on being calm under stress. The Japanese protesters also generally avoid excessive use of force. Brutal police violence is rarely an issue. The guilty party is punished and sometimes transferred to another area of the police service if they are deemed unable to control themselves.
Intensive experience in suppressing violent unrest led to the development of special uniforms and equipment for the operational police units. The uniform consists of a field jacket with several armor plates and an abdominal protection hanging down from the stomach, an aluminum plate over the spine and shoulder pads. Armored gloves cover hands and forearms. The helmets have a face protection and a hanging neck protection. During violent clashes, the front rows wear 1.2 m high shields as protection against sticks and stones and long poles with nets to intercept flying objects. Special equipment includes water cannons, armored vehicles and mobile tunnels for penetrating occupied buildings.
Since the deployment of the emergency police requires the closed operation as a group, the units are barracked in almost autonomous facilities and trained to act as a closed unit. The vast majority of members are bachelors who live in dormitories on the unit's premises. Ongoing training is focused on physical conditioning, practice fights, and tactical issues. There is a military atmosphere, clothing and behavior regulations and differences in rank are followed more closely than with the regular police. The spirit of the corps is reinforced with regular ceremonies and the tradition of rituals. This includes B. applauding personnel being called to and returning from operations and formally greeting senior officers in the dining room at all meals.
The service with the emergency police is not popular because it demands special sacrifices and there is a lot of boredom between the irregular missions. Only a few of the members of the police are therefore volunteers, the others are seconded to this mission. For many, serving in these units serves as a stepping stone as it has a reputation and offers ample opportunity to study for the high-service exams that are prerequisites for promotion. Since the assignment requires physical fitness - the uniform weighs 6.6 kg - most of them are young and serve in these units after an initial period of service in a Koban.
Relations between the police and the population
Despite legal restrictions, many citizens see the police as an authority to turn to for help. Citizens seek police help to settle family disputes, advise young people and mediate in smaller disputes. They often ask the police for directions to hotels and apartments - invaluable help in cities where streets often have no names and houses are numbered consecutively in the order in which they were built instead of one street. Police officers are encouraged by their superiors to see these tasks as satisfying public needs for services and as a means of building confidence. The public attitude towards the police is generally favorable, although a series of extorted confession cases in the 1980s raised some concerns about the treatment of detainees on remand.
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See also
- Kebiishi , Heian Period Police
Web links
- National Police Agency - Japanese and English, therein POLICE OF JAPAN 2017 (Overview of Japanese Police) (pdf, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Iwate Prefecture Administration : 都 道 府 県 警察 官 の 定員 , accessed November 27, 2019.
- ↑ see also Police Department of the National Government : Overall Statistics of Police Employees 2015 (Japanese) and Sōmushō , Statistics Office: Annual total number of police employees in the fiscal years 1981-2005 (Japanese / English)