151 - Japanese Police's Arrest Rate

 

【日本警察の検挙率、nippon-keisatsu no kenkyoritsu】

[The arrest rate refers to the ratio between crimes and arrests. It is not to be confused with conviction rate, the ratio of criminal cases brought to court and convictions.]

The Japanese police are excellent, or so they say.

The reality is, the arrest rate of the Japanese police was over 60 percent in the 1980s, making Japan one of the safest countries in the world. However, from the late 1980s, the arrest rate began to decline. In the 1990s, it dropped even further, lowering to around 40 percent.

However, it still had the second highest arrest rate after Germany among the five great powers of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. And, if only homicide rates were to be considered, the rate was 96 percent, the highest among the superpowers.

But, even in the year 2000, the arrest rate did not rise again. The reasons included the diversification of crimes, the increase of crimes committed by foreigners or minors, and the shortage of police officers.

As of 2000, Japan's arrest rate is 23.6 percent. It ranks fourth after Germany, France, and the UK. Japan's safety myth may already be a thing of the past.