Japan Police to Promote Structural Reform

Tokyo, April 2 (Jiji Press)--Japan’s National Police Agency on Thursday issued structural reform guidelines that call for sharing equipment and personnel across prefectural police departments and for flexibly reviewing the division of roles between police headquarters and stations.

The guidelines present a course for reform to address the challenges of maintaining public safety in light of the increasing specialization and international nature of crimes such as special fraud and cybercrime, as well as maintaining police forces due to population decline.

Measures for cross-prefectural collaboration include the joint operation of helicopters by multiple police headquarters to avoid suspensions for inspections and maintenance.

The NPA also aims to promote the consolidation of advanced forensic equipment and expert personnel at large-scale forensic laboratories, which will conduct evaluations at the request of nearby prefectural police.

Police departments are also expected to conduct joint training at police academies and optimize the distribution of personnel and equipment, such as drones and specialized investigative units.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]