J-Police: REQUEST FOR COOPERATION

[yanpa]

What about the 10% spent standing outside the koban stopping a wooden pole from falling over?

[GomiGirl]

Was pretty impressed recently by the police unit controlling lost and found items. Left a shopping bag on a train station seat and was able to get it back fairly quickly.

Plus, I can always get directions if I am lost and my iPhone can't get signal for maps.

All good stuff right?

[IparryU]

hilarious results for the poll!

only 10 votes thus far though...

[sublight]

Sure - whinge and moan about the coppers but where is the first place you run to if you feel your rights (or driveways) are being violated?

I am not apologising for them, I am just pointing out the hypocrisy.

But any, 'tis all moot as Goodwin's law has been invoked.

There's no hypocrisy in going to the police when there's trouble, but then objecting to them overstepping their bounds with useless and intrusive questions.

If I tell my doctor that it's none of his business what my visa status is, that doesn't then make me a hypocrite for going to the hospital when I need my appendix out.

[GomiGirl]

Sure - whinge and moan about the coppers but where is the first place you run to if you feel your rights (or driveways) are being violated?

I am not apologising for them, I am just pointing out the hypocrisy.

But any, 'tis all moot as Goodwin's law has been invoked.

There's no hypocrisy in going to the police when there's trouble, but then objecting to them overstepping their bounds with useless and intrusive questions.

If I tell my doctor that it's none of his business what my visa status is, that doesn't then make me a hypocrite for going to the hospital when I need my appendix out.

Your argument makes no sense and is flawed in its logic. How is your doctor connected to immigration? They are not so no need for them to know your visa status.

The local plod are *supposedly* gathering the names of the residents in their local area in case they need to find people after a disaster. Yes be suspicious of what the information is actually used for but admit that these two pieces of information are much closer in logical terms than the doctor and immigration.

At face value, the local plod are looking after the welfare of local residents and thus, need to know who those residents are. My argument is that you are a hypocrite if you try to use the services of the local plod and yet you try to impede them in the performance of their duties by refusing to keep their records up to date by being a smart arse.

I am no apologist for the plod.. but I just think that everybody on the board is trying to be a hero until they get their panties stolen from the washing on the balcony and then they whinge and moan about where the coppers are and why they are not protecting them better.

[Coligny]

See there is nothing hypocrite in wanting the cops do their jobs (traffic regulation, fighting criminality). And avoid doing what is IN NO WAY their jobs. (collecting random intelligence without mandate or explicit purpose). You try to create a purpose to justify their actions... But it just don't work... If the poop hit the fan, certainly outdated (attendance list are a daily affair) probably innaccessible anyway and therefore their database would be next to useless.

(funny, I can nest italics in quotesbut not striked words...)

OOPSSYYY...

Pumpkin is right... (inside broken clock joke here)

Just got a callback from a buddy in uniform (a long story aboot 1940' Japanese Submarine in Lorient...)

The census is part of their mission; (and supposed to be done twice a year if you believe the english wiki). Data is kept on file locally for each koban without sharing or centralisation...

[Russell]

The local plod are *supposedly* gathering the names of the residents in their local area in case they need to find people after a disaster. Yes be suspicious of what the information is actually used for but admit that these two pieces of information are much closer in logical terms than the doctor and immigration.

At face value, the local plod are looking after the welfare of local residents and thus, need to know who those residents are. My argument is that you are a hypocrite if you try to use the services of the local plod and yet you try to impede them in the performance of their duties by refusing to keep their records up to date by being a smart arse.

I am no apologist for the plod.. but I just think that everybody on the board is trying to be a hero until they get their panties stolen from the washing on the balcony and then they whinge and moan about where the coppers are and why they are not protecting them better.

So, why didn't you vote? There's still 0 votes for the first two options...

[IparryU]

The local plod are *supposedly* gathering the names of the residents in their local area in case they need to find people after a disaster. Yes be suspicious of what the information is actually used for but admit that these two pieces of information are much closer in logical terms than the doctor and immigration.

At face value, the local plod are looking after the welfare of local residents and thus, need to know who those residents are. My argument is that you are a hypocrite if you try to use the services of the local plod and yet you try to impede them in the performance of their duties by refusing to keep their records up to date by being a smart arse.

I am no apologist for the plod.. but I just think that everybody on the board is trying to be a hero until they get their panties stolen from the washing on the balcony and then they whinge and moan about where the coppers are and why they are not protecting them better.

So, why didn't you vote? There's still 0 votes for the first two options...

now one for each... did you do that GG?

[GomiGirl]

The local plod are *supposedly* gathering the names of the residents in their local area in case they need to find people after a disaster. Yes be suspicious of what the information is actually used for but admit that these two pieces of information are much closer in logical terms than the doctor and immigration.

At face value, the local plod are looking after the welfare of local residents and thus, need to know who those residents are. My argument is that you are a hypocrite if you try to use the services of the local plod and yet you try to impede them in the performance of their duties by refusing to keep their records up to date by being a smart arse.

I am no apologist for the plod.. but I just think that everybody on the board is trying to be a hero until they get their panties stolen from the washing on the balcony and then they whinge and moan about where the coppers are and why they are not protecting them better.

So, why didn't you vote? There's still 0 votes for the first two options...

now one for each... did you do that GG?

Nope - didn't vote. Not allowed to in Japan.

Really I am not fixated on this issue, I was just pointing out how everybody was all full of swagger and bravado about how they stood up to the "man" and how hypocritical that was when I know that they are the first place you go to when you have a whinge about something in your 'hood.

[Mike Oxlong]

Seems a lot like PR work. LIke going to schools and giving traffic safety lectures (a good thing), then failing to follow it up with any traffic patrol and law enforcement.

Kids come home from school talking about the omawari-san, and how he said, "Jibun no inochi wa, jibun de mamoru!" A good sentiment; even more so when they realize that the the ol' keisatsukan rarely peeks out from his cozy koban, even while they're walking to and from school in rush hour traffic.

[Russell]

Back to filling out those cards with personal family details for the J-police, here is a case where it was abused by an officer for his own personal reasons.

[wangta]

A good rule to live your life by is if it aint required by law, then you don't need to give out personal data etc to anybody or any organisation unless it's something you willingly sign up for and need to provide info to do so.

There are plenty of organisations and individuals that just want to fuck with people so they can soften them up for accepting no right to privacy, no right to be left alone if you're not doing anything unlawful or bothering other people. In Japan as in just about every other Asian country there is a background of authoritarianism and foreigners are still fair game for police etc overstepping the mark.

When I did the Jp Census some time ago, my too-free, too-interested-in-other-people-especially-gaijin neighbour had an arabaito as a census collector. She handed me an envelope that could not be sealed and looked as if I'd struck her in her annoying face when I told her I would take the finished census form myself to the relevant local office. I did and I put tape on it. The census people didn't mind one whit. I know my personal details including my salary would have done the rounds of the local neighbourhood group had I been stupid enough to give the local bigmouth my forms.

In Korea I was on a trip with my school's students to an island that is part of Korean territory and is definitely not considered another country. I was told at the ferry entrance to hand over my passport and K equivalent of gaijin card despite the fact that not one other person who was Korean was asked for ID. I had booked the ticket previously. I refused and rather than have the ferry depart late, they let me on along with my school group.

In Oz the medical authorities have taken to sending unsolicited do it yourself cancer testing kits such as for bowel cancer. Instead of doing something respectful and sending you a letter that asks if you would like a kit and if so they will send it out to you, they just send it to you via the post and demand that you do it.

They imply it's compulsory but it most definitely is not. The issue here is not how useful advance testing for cancer is - it's the way the authorities are misleading about the voluntary nature of the test. Especially as you send back all your private data including medical and cancer test results to faceless people who are not your doctor. About a decade and a half ago Aussies would object to such Big Brother tactics but the younger population have little concept of privacy rights while the demographics have changed and many migrants now come from countries with no tradition or concept of the right to privacy.

[matsuki]

Back to filling out those cards with personal family details for the J-police, here is a case where it was abused by an officer for his own personal reasons.

Fuuuuuuuu

I wonder if there are stats about the number of sexual/pedo crimes committed by officers of the law. Somehow I think Japan would have yet another ナンバーワン！

[Samurai_Jerk]

Back to filling out those cards with personal family details for the J-police, here is a case where it was abused by an officer for his own personal reasons.

Fucking creepy. He's out of a job but I wonder what the most they can charge him with is.

[Russell]

Fucking creepy. He's out of a job but I wonder what the most they can charge him with is.

Because the girl had a good intuition and a clear mind, the crime he committed is limited. It is probably something like "attempted something" or so.

[kurogane]

The banner thingy says Attempted Seduction, so Something like attempted corruption of a minor, or luring a minor.

Not a nice thing to have on your record at any rate.

EDIT: Yeeeks. The victim was 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was thinking if he's 24 and the girl is 17, then, well, bad but.............she's 10.

Anyways, let's not judge too quickly. They were very clear that it happened in Gunma.

[wagyl]

The banner thingy says Attempted Seduction, so Something like attempted corruption of a minor, or luring a minor.

Not a nice thing to have on your record at any rate.

He could give grooming tips.

[kurogane]

ＯＯＯＯＨＨＨｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈ。Booya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Anyways, that does seem to be the newer media term. Yeck.

[wangta]

The case of that pervert cunt of a J policeman just reinforces why an intelligent and reasoned scepticism of authority's demands for private data when there is no legal compulsion to give the said data is better than 'Oh they're just doing their job'.

The police are in one essential way public servants with way more clout. Being there when we need their assistance is part of the basic job description and has zilch to do with fair assessments of whether we should give up privacy voluntarily. The example of the blurring of voluntary and compulsory by authorities more and more is evident in that medical example from Oz.

Yes, if you want to it's great to test for bowel cancer. But sent unsolicited testing kits and told more or less in the accompanying paperwork that you have to do it and return it to this address, blah, blah when in fact there is no compulsory testing done this way and it's entirely up to you if you choose to do something you never requested is a problem for some of us. Another case of ratcheting up demands for voluntary surrender of privacy.