(Bloomberg) -- Japan is shifting away from its practice of stationing police officers at neighborhood outposts around the clock as a shrinking population and rise in cybercrime makes it consider better uses of law enforcement resources.
“Koban,” as the ubiquitous outposts are called, have been credited with helping make the country one of the world’s safest. Officers posted there fulfill duties ranging from responding to emergencies, giving directions and handling lost-and-found items.
The National Police Agency rolled out changes to its koban policy on Friday, saying they no longer need to be staffed 24 hours a day if the local police department deems it unnecessary. The change will allow for more flexibility to cater to each area’s demographic situation, Commissioner General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki said in a press briefing Thursday.
The change is part of a sweeping review of how to allocate resources as the agency grapples with a jump in phishing scams and other forms of cybercrime. Cases of online wire fraud hit a record 5,528 in 2023, increasing nearly tenfold from just two years earlier, according to government data. The agency has added more than 2,700 staff to deal with the matter and other focus areas including protection of important personnel, following the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Meanwhile, street crime in Japan has been on the decline, with cases dropping 85% between 2002 and 2023.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
