
Yomiuri: NPA to set up child crime squads / People acting suspiciously around children to be monitored, warned
The National Police Agency likely will introduce measures aimed at identifying people who are observed acting suspiciously around children, in an attempt to preventing serious crimes against minors such as abduction or murder, according to sources. The agency also is expected to begin collecting data from people involved in minor crimes and suspect actions involving children, such as recording such people's DNA on a database, the sources said. "We'll change our conventional attitude, which has been to act only after crimes are committed, and will instead adopt a more proactive stance toward cutting crime and eliminating the factors that cause fear in society," an NPA official said. "We expect it [the widened database] will assist investigations into unsolved cases and improve the crime-solution rate."