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Kōban

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Koban and Kohban.
A kōban in the Ginza district of Tokyo
A kōban in Kameari, Katsushika, Tokyo – the model for the kōban in the manga Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo

A kōban (Japanese: 交番) is a small neighborhood police station found in Japan. The term also refers to the smallest organizational unit in a modern Japanese Prefectural police department.[1] Small kōban buildings, staffed by uniformed officers at around 6,000 locations all over the country,[2] are the bases for community policing activities which complement the work of larger, central police stations. Although often translated into English as "police box",[3] kōban bear little resemblance to the police boxes formerly found in the UK or the police call boxes formerly found in the US, as they are larger and more permanent structures than both police boxes and call boxes.

Overview

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A kōban is typically a one- or two-story building with a couple of rooms (although there is wide variation), staffed by a few police officers belonging to the community police affairs section (地域課, chiiki-ka) of a police station (警察署, Keisatsu-sho).[4][5] Many kōban have signs reading KOBAN in Latin script.[6][7]

Services provided

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Inside a small kōban

Police officers stationed at kōban serve several roles:[citation needed]

  • Maps and directions – providing maps and directions to local addresses. Additionally, officers can refer people to local hotels, restaurants, and other businesses.
  • Lost and found – accepting reports of lost items and accepting found items from members of the public and, if a matching lost item is turned in, notifying the owner of the item to come pick up the item.
  • Crime reports – taking police reports, typically for property crimes such as theft and burglary.
  • Emergency services – dialing the emergency telephone number "110" in the case of emergency.

History

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A relocated Meiji-era koban from Sudo-cho, Tokyo, today at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

The name kōban derives from the name of the earliest structure built in 1874, which were simple boxes meant for standing watch (立番, tachiban) in rotation (交替, kōtai), thus creating a compound word consisting of kō (交) and ban (番).[8] Soon after, in 1881, kōban were transformed into local community stations with as many as six officers and a new official name hashutsujo (派出所, "local police station") was given to it — although its common name, "kōban" survived.

"Kōban" was further systematized and spread out nationwide, playing an important role in the Japanese police system over decades. In 1994, the official name hashutsujo was changed back to kōban.

In 2017, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has been posting officers in kōbans who speak more than one language to help tourists and foreign expats, using the Kabukicho Kōban in Shinjuku and the Shibuya Ekimae Kōban.[9]

In 2019, the NPA ordered a risk assessment following a series of attacks on kōban officers. In one case in 2019, a lone officer stationed inside a kōban in Suita was attacked and his sidearm stolen.[10][11][12]

Other countries

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A restored Japanese colonial-era kōban in Taiwan

Small police stations similar to the Japanese kōban can also be found in Singapore, where they are known as neighbourhood police posts.[13]

Additionally, the kōban system has become popular with international police training and assistance programs, particularly those of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA has helped to establish kōban-style community policing programs in several countries, including Indonesia, Brazil,[14] and Honduras.[15] In 2016, a kōban was built by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) at The Grove Mall in Los Angeles, California, USA; the LAPD also operates a kōban in the Little Tokyo neighborhood.[16][17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jones, Trevor; Tim Newburn (2006). Plural policing. Routledge. pp. 232–33. ISBN 0-415-35510-9.
  2. ^ Enhancement plan of kōban functionality (今後の交番機能の強化対策の推進について) Archived 2009-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, National Police Agency of Japan, viewed April 8, 2009 (in Japanese)
  3. ^ "'kōban' translated as 'police box'", Books (search)
  4. ^ National Police Agency Police History Compilation Committee, ed. (1977). Japan post-war police history (in Japanese). Japan Police Support Association. pp. 916–933. NCID BA59637079.
  5. ^ Toyozaki, Yoko; Stuart Varnam-Atkin (2008). 日本風物詩 [Are Japanese Cats Left-handed?]. Translated by Sawada Gumi. IBC Publishing. pp. 19–21. ISBN 978-4-89684-581-5.
  6. ^ Parker, L Craig (2001). The Japanese police system today. ME Sharpe. pp. 38–58. ISBN 0-7656-0762-X.
  7. ^ "Landmark", Kōban, Japan: Metropolitan Police Department, archived from the original on March 15, 2013, retrieved April 9, 2009 — official signs
  8. ^ Activities of kōban (交番・パトカーの活動) (in Japanese), Japan: Metropolitan Police Department, archived from the original on July 16, 2012, retrieved April 8, 2009
  9. ^ "Koban（交番） 警視庁".
  10. ^ "Suspect fired stolen gun in residential area 30 minutes later：The Asahi Shimbun". www.asahi.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-18.
  11. ^ "Japanese police officer's loaded handgun stolen after he was stabbed in chest on patrol". The Straits Times. 16 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Man stabs police officer, steals his gun in Osaka Pref; 33-year-old suspect sought". 16 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Koban to start in Toa Payoh". The Straits Times. 3 July 1982. p. 1. Retrieved 20 November 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
  14. ^ "White Paper on Development Cooperation 2015 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan".
  15. ^ "4. Consolidación de la Democracia", El Salvador (in Spanish), JP: JICA, archived from the original on July 13, 2009, retrieved February 13, 2009.
  16. ^ "Koban Substation Opens at the Grove". 29 November 2016.
  17. ^ "The LAPD Kōban".
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