NCJ Number
122369
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 57 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 54-58
Date Published
1990
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Methods for preventing and controlling crime and juvenile delinquency in Salem, Oreg. and Kawagoe, Japan were compared to determine whether Japan can offer some new approaches useful to the United States.
Abstract
The analysis showed that Salem had a population one-third the size of that in Kawagoe in 1986, but it had nearly nine times more reported crimes. In addition, 69 percent of the crimes in Kawagoe were cleared by arrest, compared with only 41 percent in Salem. Citizens also made five times as many requests for service in Salem as in Kawagoe. Other differences were the greater visibility of Kawagoe's police, through foot, bicycle, and vehicle patrols; a greater emphasis on crime prevention as part of the Japanese police role; and greater involvement of Japanese citizens in both crime prevention and law enforcement. Moreover, the Japanese appear to do a better job than the United States in education for citizenship. They also deliberately detain more juveniles, mainly for minor property crimes like shoplifting. Furthermore, surveys of students in both cities found that a majority of students believe that family dysfunction and inadequate parental supervision are the main causes of crime and delinquency and recommended improvements in parenting and the home environment. Other differences were the use of volunteers for parole and probation supervision in Japan, the wider use of laypersons in the Japanese judicial process, and the emphasis on work among Japanese inmates.