Kōban

Official Symbol for a Kōban on Japanese maps ^[1]

This kōban is a landmark in the Ginza district, Tokyo, Japan

Kōban in Kameari, Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan. Modeled kōban for manga of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo.

A kōban (交番, kōban^?) is a small neighborhood police station found in Japan. Kōban also refers to the smallest organizational unit in today's Japanese police system^[2]. In addition to central police stations, Japanese uniformed police work is done from small buildings located within the community, a form of community policing. As of 2007, there are about 6,000 kōban all over Japan^[3]. Since the 1990s, many of them are found with signs in all-capital letter alphabets, "KOBAN"^[4][5].

Overview

A kōban is typically a two-storied housing with a couple of rooms (although there is wide variation), with from one to more than ten police officers. ^[6]. The officers in these buildings can keep watch, respond to emergencies, give directions, and otherwise interact with citizens on a more intimate basis than they could from a more distant station. Although often translated to English as "police box"^[7], the kōban bears little resemblance to the British police box.

The name kōban derives from the name of the earliest structure built in 1874, which were indeed 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 in 1881, kōban were transformed into local community stations with as much as six officers and a new official name hashutsusho (派出所^?) 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. It was in 1994 when once again the official name of hashutsusho was changed back to kōban. One of the issues recognized in the last several years as most significant around the kōban system was the existence of aki-kōban, that is to say, un-manned stations. According to the National Police Agency, this issue was addressed and solved by 2007^[3].

Small police stations similar to the Japanese kōban are also found in parts of China and Singapore. 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 invested money in establishing kōban-style community policing programs in several countries, including Indonesia, Brazil, and Honduras^[9].

Services provided

A re-sited Meiji-era koban from Sudo-cho, Tokyo

Police officers stationed at kōban serve several roles:

• Maps and directions -- Providing maps & directions to local addresses, in some cases even personally guiding those unfamiliar with local street layouts and addressing schemes. 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. 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 -- As well as dialing the emergency telephone number "110" in case of police, fire, or medical emergency, direct contact can be made with the koban and assistance will be dispatched.

Gallery

Kōban with a police officer standing outside (1938)	Kōban in front of Chiba Station, called "Owl Kōban"	Kōban in Shibuya, Tokyo	Kōban in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto
Kōban in Ginza, Tokyo	Kōban in Ginza, Tokyo	Kōban in Hachinohe, Aomori	Kōban in front of Ikebukuro Station, called "Owl Kōban"
Kōban in front of Wadayama Station, Asago, Hyogo	Kōban in front of Kurayoshi Station, Kurayoshi, Tottori	Restaurant Kōban in Chinkuashih Gold Ecological Park, Taipei, Taiwan	A Police Box in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower Neighbourhood Police Box in Hong Kong

See also

• Police system of Japan
• Neighbourhood Police Posts, similar buildings in Singapore
• Police box, telephone booths formerly widely employed in the United Kingdom and other countries for use by the police, and by the public to contact the police

References

External links

• Etymology of koban, Japanese language site of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Click "ﾄｯﾌﾟ" (at top) for English language version.
• http://www.koban.fr
• Koban System of Japan and the Neighbourhood Police Centre System of Singapore
• [1]