The changing nature of communities and implications for community policing in Japan

Abstract EN

As David H.

Bayley described in his classic book Forces of Order : Policing Modern Japan, the Japanese people have long enjoyed one of the safest societies in the world? One contributing factor has been a community-oriented policing system based on police boxes, or koban.

In recent years, however, social changes have undermined some of the conditions which sustained safe communities, such as the strong bonds between citizens and the spirit of reciprocal help and public service.

Internationalization, motorization, and the rapid development of information technology have also had negative effects in some communities.

As a consequence, the “myth of safety” in Japan burst at the end of the 20th century.

Crime increased for seven consecutive years beginning in 1995, and the number of recorded penal code crimes peaked at more than 2.8 million in YEAR—more than double the number for 1980.

The Japanese Police have also been strongly criticized for a series of scandals, including some which resulted in the death of crime victims because of improper police responses.

In response to these criticisms, the Japanese police undertook several major reforms, including a change in policing strategy in many communities.

This presentation briefly describes traditional community policing in Japan and then explains the process of transforming the community policing strategy into a safe community building strategy.

Based on statistical reviews of the current criminal situation, it also explores the relationship between the decrease in crime that has occurred in Japan over the last eight years and some of the new strategies and techniques of policing.