Child crime-prevention unit launched to aid Tokyo police
July 20, 2003
Yomiuri Shimbun
A patrol group of children who practice martial arts at the gymnasium of Seijo Police Station in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, hit the streets Saturday armed with a message against crime. A ceremony announcing the unit’s formation was held in front of the station on the same day–the first day of the school summer holidays.
The unit, which will engage in various crime-prevention activities, consists of 55 primary, middle and high school students who practice judo and kendo at the police station’s gymnasium. The unit’s first mission was to distribute flyers to passersby in front of Odakyu Line’s Kitami Station in the ward. Speaking at the ceremony held to launch the patrol group, Taro Sato, the head of the police station, said: "Within the jurisdiction of our police station, a burglary and murder case in which all four members of a family were killed occurred at the end of 2000.
“Let’s work together to create good neighborhoods with the spirit that you have shown when you learn (martial arts) at the gymnasium.” Wearing armbands provided by Sato and dressed in judo or kendo uniforms, the children walked through the shopping street near the station, holding placards asking for information concerning the murder case.