WAKKANAI, Hokkaido -- A police investigator faces charges for peeping into a woman's apartment in August while he was suspended from duty, police sources said.
Local police are set to send an investigation report to prosecutors, accusing the 31-year-old senior officer of violating the Minor Offense Law. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.
The investigator peeped into a young woman's apartment in Wakkanai through a window blind late on the night of Aug. 21, according to the sources.
The officer fled the scene in his car parked nearby after a man who was staying at the victim's apartment noticed his actions and warned him. However, police tracked him down from the license plate number of his vehicle that the man remembered.
The officer was suspended from duty on July 6 for leaking confidential investigation information on about 330 individuals onto the Internet through the file-exchange software Winny.
のぞき見：情報流出の巡査長、停職中に女性の部屋を 稚内
私有パソコンから捜査情報をインターネット上に流出させ、停職６カ月の処分を受けた北海道警稚内署刑事課の男性巡査長（３１）が停職期間中の８月、稚内市内で女性の部屋をのぞき見していたことが分かった。道警は２８日にも巡査長を軽犯罪法違反（のぞき見）容疑で稚内区検に書類送検する。
関係者によると、巡査長は８月２１日深夜、稚内市内のアパート１階に住む若い女性の部屋を窓のブラインドの隙間からのぞいたとされる。女性と面識はなく、「散歩中に話し声が聞こえたので近づいた」などと話し、のぞき見したことを認めているという。
女性宅にいた男性が気付くと、巡査長は近くに止めてあった車で逃げたが、男性が車のナンバーを同署に通報した。
巡査長は４月、ファイル交換ソフト「ウィニー」を通じ、約３３０人分の捜査情報をネット上に流出させ、７月６日付で停職処分を受けた。
Mainichi
November 28, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Police giving discretionary contracts
The Yomiuri Shimbun
OSAKA--Traffic safety associations in 30 prefectures were awarded discretionary contracts to oversee parking meter and ticket machine operations by police headquarters this fiscal year, even though a revision of a related regulation in January opened up the bidding to private firms and other bodies, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Some of the associations' employees are retired police officers.
Parking meters and parking ticket machines have been introduced in 40 prefectures. While 10 prefectural police headquarters invited public bids for the management of the machines, only one prefecture awarded the contract to a private firm.
Discretionary contracts awarded to the traffic safety associations in the 30 prefectures were worth 5 billion yen, a figure that represents 98 percent of the overall value of the contracts.
According to the National Police Agency, Road Traffic Law regulations allowed the commissioning of management works to public corporations established "to contribute to traffic safety" until fiscal 2006. Prefectural police awarded discretionary contracts for the works to local traffic safety associations until that point.
However, the three-year plan for deregulation and opening up of public business to the private sector, which was adopted at a Cabinet meeting in March 2006, concluded there was no appropriate reason to limit such management works to public corporations.
As a result, the regulation was revised to allow the private sector to bid for such management contracts.
According to documents obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun from the relevant prefectural police headquarters based on the Freedom of Information Act, 40 prefectural police headquarters commissioned management works worth a total of 5.1 billion yen to outside bodies in fiscal 2007.
However, the Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka, Aichi, Fukuoka and 26 other prefectural police headquarters did not invite bids for the works, and instead awarded discretionary contracts to traffic safety associations.
In the case of the 11 prefectural police forces that disclosed the expected maximum price of the contract, the actual contract prices reached an average of 99.8 percent of the expected maximum contract prices.
Only 10 prefectural police headquarters, which own the relatively small number of parking meters and ticket machines, invited bids.
In three of the 10 prefectures, a traffic safety association and private firms participated in the bid for the works. Oita Prefecture's traffic safety association won the contract at 9.9 million yen, about half of the last fiscal year's contract price.
In Wakayama Prefecture, the prefecture's association did not want to bid, so the one private security firm that took part in the bidding won the contract--the sole example of a private firm winning a management contract.
In six of the 10 prefectures, only traffic safety associations participated in the bids. The prefectural police headquarters in Nara only permitted bodies that had registered management of parking ticket machines as one of their business activities with the prefectural government to participate in the bid, technically limiting the bid's participants to the prefecture's traffic safety association. The contract was awarded to the association at the ceiling price.
===
'Transparency a must'
The MPD commissioned the management work of parking meters to the Tokyo Traffic Safety Association at its discretion for 3.31 billion yen.
An MPD officer who oversees the enforcement of parking regulations said, "We can't allow an inappropriate body to get involved in the [parking regulation] business, even if we're told to open up the bidding to the private sector."
About 710, or 60 percent, of the Tokyo association's employees are former police officers, including a former MPD traffic department chief who now serves as its executive director.
Parking meters are provided for about 15,000 parking spaces, and there are ticket machines for about 3,250 parking spaces in Tokyo.
The association's employees collect parking fees and check the machines.
The MPD officer indicated the MPD might again award a discretionary contract to the association next fiscal year, saying: "We contend there aren't many bodies that are capable of dealing with a great number of ticket machines. It might be a good idea to divide the area into smaller zones and allow different bodies to handle the various zones. It may take some time before we can determine the best way to award contracts for the works."
Prof. Sakae Kitazawa of Tohoku University of Community Service and Science said: "Ministries and other public offices often attempt to award discretionary contracts for public works to bodies that are related to the offices, by putting too much emphasis on the public and somewhat unusual nature of the tasks. But I don't believe the management of parking meters requires special abilities. The police should invite open bids to ensure their contracts are transparent.
(Nov. 25, 2007)
OSAKA--Traffic safety associations in 30 prefectures were awarded discretionary contracts to oversee parking meter and ticket machine operations by police headquarters this fiscal year, even though a revision of a related regulation in January opened up the bidding to private firms and other bodies, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Some of the associations' employees are retired police officers.
Parking meters and parking ticket machines have been introduced in 40 prefectures. While 10 prefectural police headquarters invited public bids for the management of the machines, only one prefecture awarded the contract to a private firm.
Discretionary contracts awarded to the traffic safety associations in the 30 prefectures were worth 5 billion yen, a figure that represents 98 percent of the overall value of the contracts.
According to the National Police Agency, Road Traffic Law regulations allowed the commissioning of management works to public corporations established "to contribute to traffic safety" until fiscal 2006. Prefectural police awarded discretionary contracts for the works to local traffic safety associations until that point.
However, the three-year plan for deregulation and opening up of public business to the private sector, which was adopted at a Cabinet meeting in March 2006, concluded there was no appropriate reason to limit such management works to public corporations.
As a result, the regulation was revised to allow the private sector to bid for such management contracts.
According to documents obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun from the relevant prefectural police headquarters based on the Freedom of Information Act, 40 prefectural police headquarters commissioned management works worth a total of 5.1 billion yen to outside bodies in fiscal 2007.
However, the Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka, Aichi, Fukuoka and 26 other prefectural police headquarters did not invite bids for the works, and instead awarded discretionary contracts to traffic safety associations.
In the case of the 11 prefectural police forces that disclosed the expected maximum price of the contract, the actual contract prices reached an average of 99.8 percent of the expected maximum contract prices.
Only 10 prefectural police headquarters, which own the relatively small number of parking meters and ticket machines, invited bids.
In three of the 10 prefectures, a traffic safety association and private firms participated in the bid for the works. Oita Prefecture's traffic safety association won the contract at 9.9 million yen, about half of the last fiscal year's contract price.
In Wakayama Prefecture, the prefecture's association did not want to bid, so the one private security firm that took part in the bidding won the contract--the sole example of a private firm winning a management contract.
In six of the 10 prefectures, only traffic safety associations participated in the bids. The prefectural police headquarters in Nara only permitted bodies that had registered management of parking ticket machines as one of their business activities with the prefectural government to participate in the bid, technically limiting the bid's participants to the prefecture's traffic safety association. The contract was awarded to the association at the ceiling price.
===
'Transparency a must'
The MPD commissioned the management work of parking meters to the Tokyo Traffic Safety Association at its discretion for 3.31 billion yen.
An MPD officer who oversees the enforcement of parking regulations said, "We can't allow an inappropriate body to get involved in the [parking regulation] business, even if we're told to open up the bidding to the private sector."
About 710, or 60 percent, of the Tokyo association's employees are former police officers, including a former MPD traffic department chief who now serves as its executive director.
Parking meters are provided for about 15,000 parking spaces, and there are ticket machines for about 3,250 parking spaces in Tokyo.
The association's employees collect parking fees and check the machines.
The MPD officer indicated the MPD might again award a discretionary contract to the association next fiscal year, saying: "We contend there aren't many bodies that are capable of dealing with a great number of ticket machines. It might be a good idea to divide the area into smaller zones and allow different bodies to handle the various zones. It may take some time before we can determine the best way to award contracts for the works."
Prof. Sakae Kitazawa of Tohoku University of Community Service and Science said: "Ministries and other public offices often attempt to award discretionary contracts for public works to bodies that are related to the offices, by putting too much emphasis on the public and somewhat unusual nature of the tasks. But I don't believe the management of parking meters requires special abilities. The police should invite open bids to ensure their contracts are transparent.
(Nov. 25, 2007)
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Iwate cops silent for years over sex cases involving force members
MORIOKA -- Sex cases involving members of the Iwate Prefectural Police force were keep secret from the public for up to two years, the Mainichi has learned.
The cases involved an assistant inspector who groped a female colleague's breasts last year, and another police force desk worker reported to prosecutors for taking footage of women using a hidden camera in 2005.
Police internal affairs officials said that on the night of March 8, 2006, following a party, the assistant inspector in his 40s fondled the breasts of a female colleague. Other members of the force reported the incident, but no criminal case was launched because the victim refused to press charges.
On May 19 last year, the assistant inspector was given a reprimand and was transferred away in the spring of this year.
In 2005, documents accusing a force administrative official with using a hidden camera were sent to prosecutors.
Iwate Prefectural Police did not go public with either case.
岩手県警：男性警部補がセクハラ戒告…公表せず ０６年
岩手県警の男性警部補が０６年、同僚女性へのセクハラで戒告処分となり、男性事務職員も０５年に盗撮で書類送検されていたことが分かった。いずれの不祥事も当時、岩手県警は公表しなかった。
県警監察課によると、４０代の男性警部補は０６年３月８日、盛岡市の飲食店での宴会終了後、同僚女性の胸を触れるなどした。同僚らの指摘で発覚したが、女性から被害届が出されず、刑事事件にしなかったという。同年５月１９日に戒告処分を受け今春、定期異動した。
４０代の事務職員は０５年１１月３日、盛岡市のレンタルビデオ店で女性のスカートの中をカメラ付き携帯電話で撮影。県迷惑防止条例違反容疑で盛岡区検に書類送検され、盛岡簡裁で罰金１０万円の略式命令を受けた。同年１１月３０日に６カ月の減給処分となり依願退職した。
県警の高橋俊一監察課次長は▽被害者らのプライバシーに配慮した▽逮捕されていない▽職務上の不祥事ではなく私的な場－－として、「基準に沿って発表しなかった」と述べた。【山口圭一】
Mainichi
November 22, 2007
The cases involved an assistant inspector who groped a female colleague's breasts last year, and another police force desk worker reported to prosecutors for taking footage of women using a hidden camera in 2005.
Police internal affairs officials said that on the night of March 8, 2006, following a party, the assistant inspector in his 40s fondled the breasts of a female colleague. Other members of the force reported the incident, but no criminal case was launched because the victim refused to press charges.
On May 19 last year, the assistant inspector was given a reprimand and was transferred away in the spring of this year.
In 2005, documents accusing a force administrative official with using a hidden camera were sent to prosecutors.
Iwate Prefectural Police did not go public with either case.
岩手県警：男性警部補がセクハラ戒告…公表せず ０６年
岩手県警の男性警部補が０６年、同僚女性へのセクハラで戒告処分となり、男性事務職員も０５年に盗撮で書類送検されていたことが分かった。いずれの不祥事も当時、岩手県警は公表しなかった。
県警監察課によると、４０代の男性警部補は０６年３月８日、盛岡市の飲食店での宴会終了後、同僚女性の胸を触れるなどした。同僚らの指摘で発覚したが、女性から被害届が出されず、刑事事件にしなかったという。同年５月１９日に戒告処分を受け今春、定期異動した。
４０代の事務職員は０５年１１月３日、盛岡市のレンタルビデオ店で女性のスカートの中をカメラ付き携帯電話で撮影。県迷惑防止条例違反容疑で盛岡区検に書類送検され、盛岡簡裁で罰金１０万円の略式命令を受けた。同年１１月３０日に６カ月の減給処分となり依願退職した。
県警の高橋俊一監察課次長は▽被害者らのプライバシーに配慮した▽逮捕されていない▽職務上の不祥事ではなく私的な場－－として、「基準に沿って発表しなかった」と述べた。【山口圭一】
Mainichi
November 22, 2007
Ex-cop jailed for 'trampling on women's human rights' in sex cases
OSAKA -- Former Osaka Prefectural Police officer Hidetoshi Sakamoto has been jailed for 3 years for taking nude photos of a schoolgirl and woman and threatening them with violence and exposure, a court here ruled.
Sakamoto, 26, the former law enforcer, was found guilty by the Osaka District Court of indecent assault and attempted blackmail.
"They were extremely malicious crimes that trampled on the human rights of the women involved," Presiding Judge Takahiro Mikami said as he handed down the ruling.
Court records showed that in January the former Sumiyoshi Police Station officer threatened a junior high schoolgirl with a paper cutter at a hotel where he stripped her, tied her up and took photos of her.
Then, in April, Sakamoto took nude photos of a woman in her 20s who he had met through a matchmaking site and demanded she pay him 500,000 yen or he would make the pictures public.
Mainichi November 22, 2007
恐喝未遂：元巡査に懲役３年 大阪地裁
出会い系サイトで知り合った女性の裸の写真を撮影し金を脅し取ろうとしたとして、恐喝未遂と強制わいせつの罪に問われた元大阪府警住吉署地域課巡査、坂本秀俊被告（２６）に対し、大阪地裁は２１日、懲役３年（求刑・懲役５年）を言い渡した。三上孝浩裁判官は「犯行は女性の人権を踏みにじるもので極めて悪質」と述べた。
判決によると、坂本被告は今年１月、ホテルで当時中学３年の少女にカッターナイフを突きつけ、裸にしてロープで縛って写真を撮るなどした。４月には２０代女性の裸の写真を撮影して「ばらまかれたくなければ５０万円を用意しろ」などと脅した。【川辺康広】
Sakamoto, 26, the former law enforcer, was found guilty by the Osaka District Court of indecent assault and attempted blackmail.
"They were extremely malicious crimes that trampled on the human rights of the women involved," Presiding Judge Takahiro Mikami said as he handed down the ruling.
Court records showed that in January the former Sumiyoshi Police Station officer threatened a junior high schoolgirl with a paper cutter at a hotel where he stripped her, tied her up and took photos of her.
Then, in April, Sakamoto took nude photos of a woman in her 20s who he had met through a matchmaking site and demanded she pay him 500,000 yen or he would make the pictures public.
Mainichi November 22, 2007
恐喝未遂：元巡査に懲役３年 大阪地裁
出会い系サイトで知り合った女性の裸の写真を撮影し金を脅し取ろうとしたとして、恐喝未遂と強制わいせつの罪に問われた元大阪府警住吉署地域課巡査、坂本秀俊被告（２６）に対し、大阪地裁は２１日、懲役３年（求刑・懲役５年）を言い渡した。三上孝浩裁判官は「犯行は女性の人権を踏みにじるもので極めて悪質」と述べた。
判決によると、坂本被告は今年１月、ホテルで当時中学３年の少女にカッターナイフを突きつけ、裸にしてロープで縛って写真を撮るなどした。４月には２０代女性の裸の写真を撮影して「ばらまかれたくなければ５０万円を用意しろ」などと脅した。【川辺康広】
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Cop busted for possessing stimulants admits drug addiction
SAPPORO -- A police sergeant arrested for possessing stimulants has admitted that he is addicted to the drug, police said.
Hideyoshi Sasaki, 35, a sergeant at a police box in front of JR Sapporo Station, stands accused of violating the Stimulants Control Law.
"I began to use stimulants two years ago because I was exhausted from caring for an ailing family member. I became addicted to the drug. I'm sorry," he was quoted as telling investigators. "I last used stimulants on Monday."
He was arrested after he turned himself in to a police station late Tuesday night, possessing a syringe and stimulants and accompanied by his mother and other relatives.
Sasaki allegedly bought the illegal drug after obtaining a dealer's contact number on the Internet.
覚せい剤：札幌中央署の巡査部長逮捕 親族付き添い自首
札幌中央署は２０日、札幌市北区新琴似１１の３、同署地域課巡査部長で札幌駅前交番に勤務する佐々木英嘉（ひでよし）容疑者（３５）を覚せい剤取締法違反（所持）の疑いで逮捕した。佐々木容疑者が同日夜、母親など親族に付き添われ、覚せい剤と注射器を持って自首した。佐々木容疑者は使用や入手経路について自供しており、道警は裏付け捜査を進める。
調べでは、佐々木容疑者はビニール袋入りの覚せい剤５袋を所持した疑い。「２年ぐらい前から病気の家族の介護疲れで使用するようになった。覚せい剤に依存し、こうなってしまい申し訳ない」と話しているという。
インターネットで覚せい剤の売買情報を入手、携帯電話で連絡を取るなどして購入していたらしい。自首時に持参した覚せい剤は１１月初旬に購入し、「最後に使用したのは１９日。注射器で使用した」と供述しているという。腕には複数の注射痕があった。家族が佐々木容疑者の様子がおかしいと問いただした際、覚せい剤使用を打ち明けた。
佐々木容疑者は９７年４月に道警に採用された後、札幌東署地域課や生活安全課などで勤務し、今年４月に札幌中央署へ異動した。体調を崩して９月１２日から入院し、１０月３１日に退院した後は２０日まで自宅療養していた。
道警では０２年７月に生活特別捜査班長だった警部が同法違反（使用）容疑で逮捕されている。
谷口茂樹・監察官室長は「警察官にあるまじき行為で遺憾。今後、厳正に処分する」とコメントを出した。
Mainichi
November 21, 2007
Hideyoshi Sasaki, 35, a sergeant at a police box in front of JR Sapporo Station, stands accused of violating the Stimulants Control Law.
"I began to use stimulants two years ago because I was exhausted from caring for an ailing family member. I became addicted to the drug. I'm sorry," he was quoted as telling investigators. "I last used stimulants on Monday."
He was arrested after he turned himself in to a police station late Tuesday night, possessing a syringe and stimulants and accompanied by his mother and other relatives.
Sasaki allegedly bought the illegal drug after obtaining a dealer's contact number on the Internet.
覚せい剤：札幌中央署の巡査部長逮捕 親族付き添い自首
札幌中央署は２０日、札幌市北区新琴似１１の３、同署地域課巡査部長で札幌駅前交番に勤務する佐々木英嘉（ひでよし）容疑者（３５）を覚せい剤取締法違反（所持）の疑いで逮捕した。佐々木容疑者が同日夜、母親など親族に付き添われ、覚せい剤と注射器を持って自首した。佐々木容疑者は使用や入手経路について自供しており、道警は裏付け捜査を進める。
調べでは、佐々木容疑者はビニール袋入りの覚せい剤５袋を所持した疑い。「２年ぐらい前から病気の家族の介護疲れで使用するようになった。覚せい剤に依存し、こうなってしまい申し訳ない」と話しているという。
インターネットで覚せい剤の売買情報を入手、携帯電話で連絡を取るなどして購入していたらしい。自首時に持参した覚せい剤は１１月初旬に購入し、「最後に使用したのは１９日。注射器で使用した」と供述しているという。腕には複数の注射痕があった。家族が佐々木容疑者の様子がおかしいと問いただした際、覚せい剤使用を打ち明けた。
佐々木容疑者は９７年４月に道警に採用された後、札幌東署地域課や生活安全課などで勤務し、今年４月に札幌中央署へ異動した。体調を崩して９月１２日から入院し、１０月３１日に退院した後は２０日まで自宅療養していた。
道警では０２年７月に生活特別捜査班長だった警部が同法違反（使用）容疑で逮捕されている。
谷口茂樹・監察官室長は「警察官にあるまじき行為で遺憾。今後、厳正に処分する」とコメントを出した。
Mainichi
November 21, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
'Love letters' reduce recidivism among teens
The Yomiuri Shimbun
"Love letters" sent by police to delinquent teenagers have proved successful in opening up their minds and encouraging them not to reoffend.
Since April last year, letters have been sent to about 100 boys and girls arrested for criminal offenses or held in police custody in areas under the jurisdiction of Morioka Higashi Police Station of the Iwate prefectural police.
Named "Ai no Reta," they are written by four female police officers who belong to the station's Community Safety Section. The number of letters written over the period has topped 130.
In the process of exchanging letters with the teenagers, the section has received letters from some of the boys saying, "I'm so happy when I read the letters, I feel close to tears."
The recidivism rate so far this year in the areas under the jurisdiction of the police station has dropped to one-third of the corresponding period last year.
With the central part of Morioka under its jurisdiction, the police station had seen a high recidivism rate of juvenile delinquency before the "letter campaign" was launched.
To ensure recipients of the letters do not feel wary about the letters, the name of the sender is not written on the envelopes. The end of each letter itself is signed "From all those at Morioka Higashi Police Station."
One girl who was held in custody in the summer of last year after repeatedly running away from home sent a reply to a female police officer with whom she exchanged letters over a period of about one year, saying, "I really regret how stupid I used to be."
When the female officer sent a letter to the girl for the first time on her birthday in October last year, she sent back a reply full of complaints about school and the people around her. "I've no energy" and "I've no intention whatsoever of trying to understand the feelings of my mother" were among the comments she wrote. Among all the harsh language used by the girl, the officer sensed her loneliness and continued to send letters to the girl.
The officer has continued corresponding with the girl, who went on to express her difficulties in adjusting to a new environment after moving out of the prefecture. The officer told the girl, "It's OK to cry when you feel sad or things seem hard." As their correspondence continued, the girl started to use gentler language and some polite language. She eventually acknowledged that she did actually want to live with her mother after all.
The recidivism rate by boys in areas under the jurisdiction of Morioka Higashi Police Station dropped to 7 percent in the January-October period this year, down drastically from 21 percent recorded in the same period last year. The 7 percent figure is far below the national average of 30 percent for last year.
The female police officer who exchanged letters with the girl said: "I also felt lonely at school, but I was able to overcome the feeling because of the support of the people around me. It's good if we can accept and understand their loneliness even a little."
(Nov. 20, 2007)
"Love letters" sent by police to delinquent teenagers have proved successful in opening up their minds and encouraging them not to reoffend.
Since April last year, letters have been sent to about 100 boys and girls arrested for criminal offenses or held in police custody in areas under the jurisdiction of Morioka Higashi Police Station of the Iwate prefectural police.
Named "Ai no Reta," they are written by four female police officers who belong to the station's Community Safety Section. The number of letters written over the period has topped 130.
In the process of exchanging letters with the teenagers, the section has received letters from some of the boys saying, "I'm so happy when I read the letters, I feel close to tears."
The recidivism rate so far this year in the areas under the jurisdiction of the police station has dropped to one-third of the corresponding period last year.
With the central part of Morioka under its jurisdiction, the police station had seen a high recidivism rate of juvenile delinquency before the "letter campaign" was launched.
To ensure recipients of the letters do not feel wary about the letters, the name of the sender is not written on the envelopes. The end of each letter itself is signed "From all those at Morioka Higashi Police Station."
One girl who was held in custody in the summer of last year after repeatedly running away from home sent a reply to a female police officer with whom she exchanged letters over a period of about one year, saying, "I really regret how stupid I used to be."
When the female officer sent a letter to the girl for the first time on her birthday in October last year, she sent back a reply full of complaints about school and the people around her. "I've no energy" and "I've no intention whatsoever of trying to understand the feelings of my mother" were among the comments she wrote. Among all the harsh language used by the girl, the officer sensed her loneliness and continued to send letters to the girl.
The officer has continued corresponding with the girl, who went on to express her difficulties in adjusting to a new environment after moving out of the prefecture. The officer told the girl, "It's OK to cry when you feel sad or things seem hard." As their correspondence continued, the girl started to use gentler language and some polite language. She eventually acknowledged that she did actually want to live with her mother after all.
The recidivism rate by boys in areas under the jurisdiction of Morioka Higashi Police Station dropped to 7 percent in the January-October period this year, down drastically from 21 percent recorded in the same period last year. The 7 percent figure is far below the national average of 30 percent for last year.
The female police officer who exchanged letters with the girl said: "I also felt lonely at school, but I was able to overcome the feeling because of the support of the people around me. It's good if we can accept and understand their loneliness even a little."
(Nov. 20, 2007)
Monday, November 19, 2007
Police investigator arrested for crashing car while driving drunk
SHIMONOSEKI, Yamaguchi -- A police investigator has been arrested for causing a car crash on a national highway here while driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.
Yukio Yasuda, 51, a sergeant at Shimonoseki Police Station's second criminal investigation division, stands accused of violating the Road Traffic Law. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.
"I drank four or five glasses of shochu (a kind of distilled liquor) before driving. I'm terribly sorry," Yasuda was quoted as telling his bosses.
Yamaguchi Prefectural Police were apologetic about the incident. "It's indeed regrettable. We'll take strict punitive measures against him after getting to the bottom of the incident," said Sadao Ishida, a senior official with the force's inspection office.
At around 9:55 p.m. on Sunday, Yasuda crashed his car into a vehicle that was stopped at a red traffic light along Route 9 in Shimonoseki, local police said. A breath test found that he was under the influence of alcohol. The 41-year-old woman who was driving the car that was crashed by Yasuda's vehicle was not injured.
Yukio Yasuda, 51, a sergeant at Shimonoseki Police Station's second criminal investigation division, stands accused of violating the Road Traffic Law. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.
"I drank four or five glasses of shochu (a kind of distilled liquor) before driving. I'm terribly sorry," Yasuda was quoted as telling his bosses.
Yamaguchi Prefectural Police were apologetic about the incident. "It's indeed regrettable. We'll take strict punitive measures against him after getting to the bottom of the incident," said Sadao Ishida, a senior official with the force's inspection office.
At around 9:55 p.m. on Sunday, Yasuda crashed his car into a vehicle that was stopped at a red traffic light along Route 9 in Shimonoseki, local police said. A breath test found that he was under the influence of alcohol. The 41-year-old woman who was driving the car that was crashed by Yasuda's vehicle was not injured.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Nara cop posts investigative information on Mixi
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A Nara prefectural police officer posted information about police investigations, including an announcement of a forthcoming crackdown on a group of motorcycle gangs, on a message board of Internet social networking site Mixi, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The officer, in his 20s, reportedly posted messages on the site, which has about 11 million registered members, during his working hours.
His superior officers verbally reprimanded him for his actions. Police sources quoted him as saying, "I was careless."
The officer began posting messages on the site from around August. He introduced himself in his profile section as a public servant working in the traffic division of a police station. He replaced some of the kanji identifying the police station where he is assigned with symbols, but it was still clear that he was a police officer working at a station in Nara Prefecture.
He reportedly also disclosed his gender, the area where he lives and his birth date.
According to sources, at 12:22 a.m. on Oct. 2 he posted a message saying, "A certain police station's special investigation task force finally obtained arrest warrants for a motorcycle gang group and will conduct a crackdown on them tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep soon because I have to go [to the police station] early tomorrow morning to provide backup."
In a message posted at 1:57 p.m. on Aug. 24, he wrote: "A rear-end accident occurred on National Highway Route 165!! The person in the car that was hit from behind was injured. The car that rear-ended the other one is reported to be on the run!! This is a hit-and-run...And there was a report that the suspect car was caught shortly after I left the police station in an unmarked patrol car. Damn, I missed out."
When the car's driver was arrested without a warrant, the officer wrote: "Now I'm at a district court seeking a warrant. It'll take some time to get it, so I'm waiting...Because of this, [I will lose] my consecutive days off...I'm crying."
All the messages he wrote described events that occurred, the sources said.
The policeman also referred in detail to accidents and described himself as "buried under a mountain of documents" in a post titled "On duty reports!?"
There were about 11.1 million registered Mixi members as of July 31. Only registered members can browse its message boards. Those who post messages can limit viewers of the messages to friends, friends and their friends or any Mixi member.
The officer's messages were accessible to all members, and the police received reports from some who read his messages, the sources said.
The officer was quoted by the police as saying, "I thought only my friends could read my posts."
(Nov. 9, 2007)
A Nara prefectural police officer posted information about police investigations, including an announcement of a forthcoming crackdown on a group of motorcycle gangs, on a message board of Internet social networking site Mixi, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The officer, in his 20s, reportedly posted messages on the site, which has about 11 million registered members, during his working hours.
His superior officers verbally reprimanded him for his actions. Police sources quoted him as saying, "I was careless."
The officer began posting messages on the site from around August. He introduced himself in his profile section as a public servant working in the traffic division of a police station. He replaced some of the kanji identifying the police station where he is assigned with symbols, but it was still clear that he was a police officer working at a station in Nara Prefecture.
He reportedly also disclosed his gender, the area where he lives and his birth date.
According to sources, at 12:22 a.m. on Oct. 2 he posted a message saying, "A certain police station's special investigation task force finally obtained arrest warrants for a motorcycle gang group and will conduct a crackdown on them tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep soon because I have to go [to the police station] early tomorrow morning to provide backup."
In a message posted at 1:57 p.m. on Aug. 24, he wrote: "A rear-end accident occurred on National Highway Route 165!! The person in the car that was hit from behind was injured. The car that rear-ended the other one is reported to be on the run!! This is a hit-and-run...And there was a report that the suspect car was caught shortly after I left the police station in an unmarked patrol car. Damn, I missed out."
When the car's driver was arrested without a warrant, the officer wrote: "Now I'm at a district court seeking a warrant. It'll take some time to get it, so I'm waiting...Because of this, [I will lose] my consecutive days off...I'm crying."
All the messages he wrote described events that occurred, the sources said.
The policeman also referred in detail to accidents and described himself as "buried under a mountain of documents" in a post titled "On duty reports!?"
There were about 11.1 million registered Mixi members as of July 31. Only registered members can browse its message boards. Those who post messages can limit viewers of the messages to friends, friends and their friends or any Mixi member.
The officer's messages were accessible to all members, and the police received reports from some who read his messages, the sources said.
The officer was quoted by the police as saying, "I thought only my friends could read my posts."
(Nov. 9, 2007)
Thursday, November 8, 2007
High court acquits jobless man of shoving policeman
OSAKA -- A high court acquitted a man of injuring a policeman, overturning a lower court ruling that had given him a suspended prison term.
The Osaka High Court found a 47-year-old unemployed man from Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, not guilty of injuring an assistant inspector from Fushimi Police Station.
Earlier, the Kyoto District Court had convicted the man of interfering with a police officer in the execution of his duties and inflicting bodily injury, sentencing him to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years.
"It is incomprehensible that the witnesses who were at the scene did not see the policeman being attacked," said Presiding Judge Ichiro Nakasone at the Osaka High Court in handing down the ruling.
The judge also ruled that the man's statements during the police investigation were "unreliable."
The assistant police inspector questioned the man on a street in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, in September last year, and then asked him to come voluntarily to a police box nearby for questioning, according to the indictment.
The man had been indicted for shoving the chest of the policeman, making him fall to the ground twice and inflicting him with injuries that took one week to heal.
Mainichi
October 8, 2007
The Osaka High Court found a 47-year-old unemployed man from Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, not guilty of injuring an assistant inspector from Fushimi Police Station.
Earlier, the Kyoto District Court had convicted the man of interfering with a police officer in the execution of his duties and inflicting bodily injury, sentencing him to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years.
"It is incomprehensible that the witnesses who were at the scene did not see the policeman being attacked," said Presiding Judge Ichiro Nakasone at the Osaka High Court in handing down the ruling.
The judge also ruled that the man's statements during the police investigation were "unreliable."
The assistant police inspector questioned the man on a street in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, in September last year, and then asked him to come voluntarily to a police box nearby for questioning, according to the indictment.
The man had been indicted for shoving the chest of the policeman, making him fall to the ground twice and inflicting him with injuries that took one week to heal.
Mainichi
October 8, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Cop resigns after disposing [of] criminal complaints at home
SAITAMA -- A police officer has resigned after being reprimanded last month for disposing criminal complaints filed by more than 10 people at his home, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.
The Mainichi Shimbun made the discovery after it gained access to relevant documents under the local government's information disclosure system.
The officer admitted to the allegations. "I kept the documents in my locker and forgot to submit them. When I was transferred, I took the documents home and disposed them," he was quoted as telling his bosses.
The 49-year-old officer with Saitama Prefectural Police accepted criminal complaints on more than 10 incidents such as theft and trespassing in 1994 and between 2003 and 2004 when he was working at police boxes, according to the force's inspection office.
Nevertheless, he failed to compile investigation reports and took home the complaints and disposed them.
Mainichi
November 7, 2007
The Mainichi Shimbun made the discovery after it gained access to relevant documents under the local government's information disclosure system.
The officer admitted to the allegations. "I kept the documents in my locker and forgot to submit them. When I was transferred, I took the documents home and disposed them," he was quoted as telling his bosses.
The 49-year-old officer with Saitama Prefectural Police accepted criminal complaints on more than 10 incidents such as theft and trespassing in 1994 and between 2003 and 2004 when he was working at police boxes, according to the force's inspection office.
Nevertheless, he failed to compile investigation reports and took home the complaints and disposed them.
Mainichi
November 7, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Senior cop collared for shoplifting from drugstore after jumping out of window
HAMAMATSU, Shizuoka -- A senior policeman was arrested on Monday for shoplifting from a drugstore here after jumping out of a window in a failed getaway attempt, investigators said.
Hidenori Ishikawa, 32, a senior policeman at the Hamamatsu-higashi Police Station, was arrested on charges of theft. He has admitted to the allegations.
According to police, Ishikawa was caught stealing candy, towels and other goods worth a total of 2,800 yen from a drugstore in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, at around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday.
He was questioned in a staff room on the second floor of the store but didn't identify himself and instead gave police a false address. Later at around 5:00 p.m., Ishikawa jumped out of a window in the room onto the ground about 3.5 meters below in an attempt to flee but was caught by police officers after running about 200 meters away.
Ishikawa sustained light injuries that will take about two weeks to heal, according to police.
The disgraced police officer, who was off duty on Sunday, was quoted by police as saying, "I went into the store to buy drinks, but when I was walking around, I wanted to get more stuff. I fled because I was afraid they were going to identify me as a policeman."
Masatoshi Aoshima, head of the Hamamatsu-higashi Police Station, said, "It is an act unworthy of a policeman and it's highly regrettable. We'd like to deeply apologize to prefectural citizens."
October 5, 2007
Mainichi
Hidenori Ishikawa, 32, a senior policeman at the Hamamatsu-higashi Police Station, was arrested on charges of theft. He has admitted to the allegations.
According to police, Ishikawa was caught stealing candy, towels and other goods worth a total of 2,800 yen from a drugstore in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, at around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday.
He was questioned in a staff room on the second floor of the store but didn't identify himself and instead gave police a false address. Later at around 5:00 p.m., Ishikawa jumped out of a window in the room onto the ground about 3.5 meters below in an attempt to flee but was caught by police officers after running about 200 meters away.
Ishikawa sustained light injuries that will take about two weeks to heal, according to police.
The disgraced police officer, who was off duty on Sunday, was quoted by police as saying, "I went into the store to buy drinks, but when I was walking around, I wanted to get more stuff. I fled because I was afraid they were going to identify me as a policeman."
Masatoshi Aoshima, head of the Hamamatsu-higashi Police Station, said, "It is an act unworthy of a policeman and it's highly regrettable. We'd like to deeply apologize to prefectural citizens."
October 5, 2007
Mainichi
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