警察不祥事 治安の維持へ悪影響が心配だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 6, 2013)
Police scandals threaten nation's public security
警察不祥事　治安の維持へ悪影響が心配だ（2月5日付・読売社説）

Scandals involving police officers, whose task is to protect the safety of the people, show no signs of decreasing. This is a matter of grave concern.
　国民の安全を守る警察官の不祥事が後を絶たない。ゆゆしき事態だ。

If police lose the public's trust, it may have a negative impact on maintaining public security, as it would become harder for them to obtain public cooperation in investigations. The National Police Agency and prefectural police headquarters must realize the urgency of the problem.
　警察が信頼を失えば、捜査協力が得られず、治安の維持に悪影響が出かねない。警察庁や都道府県警察は強い危機感を持つべきだ。

According to the NPA, 458 police officers--including administrative workers--were punished in 2012. Among them, 62 officers were dismissed and 128 were suspended. Ninety-three officers were arrested, the highest figure in the past 10 years.
　警察庁によると、昨年１年間に懲戒処分を受けた全国の警察官、警察職員は４５８人に上った。このうち、６２人が免職、１２８人が停職処分を受けた。この１０年で最も多い９３人が逮捕された。

Topping the list of the reasons for disciplinary measures were sexual offenses including assault and molestation; theft and embezzlement.
　懲戒処分の理由では、痴漢やわいせつ行為などの性犯罪、窃盗や横領などが上位を占めた。

Those arrested included an assistant police inspector of the Toyama prefectural police who was held on suspicion of killing an elderly couple he knew and setting fire to their house. An assistant police inspector of the Fukuoka prefectural police was arrested on suspicion of leaking investigative information to men with links to a crime syndicate, and a senior policeman of the Osaka prefectural police was held over sexually assaulting a girl at a swimming beach. All of these incidents were malicious.
　逮捕された警察官には、知人夫婦を殺害し放火した容疑の富山県警警部補や、暴力団関係者に捜査情報を漏らした福岡県警警部補、海水浴場で少女にわいせつ行為をした容疑の大阪府警巡査長らが含まれる。悪質な事件ばかりだ。

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Young officers lack morals

Why are scandals occurring so frequently among police officers? Police believe the declining quality of young police officers is one reason. After being arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a girl, a policeman of the Kanagawa prefectural police was quoted as saying: "I've been a chronic molester since I was a high school student. I thought I would be able to quit it if I became a police officer."
　不祥事が多発する背景として、警察内では、若手警察官の質の低下が問題視されている。強制わいせつ容疑で捕まった神奈川県警の巡査は「高校時代から痴漢をしていた。警察官になれば、やめられると思った」と供述した。

It is astonishing that a police officer could so lack a sense of ethics.
　倫理観の欠如にあきれる。

In recent years, the NPA and prefectural police headquarters have increased employment as baby boomers hired en masse began retiring. More than 10,000 police officers have been hired each year recently.
　全国の警察では、大量採用の団塊世代が退職期に入ったため、新人の採用を増やして人員を補充している。新規採用の警察官は毎年、１万人以上に上る。

It has become increasingly important to recruit people who are competent both physically and mentally. Police should work out methods to scrutinize candidates more effectively, such as putting more emphasis on interviews in order to understand their personalities and internal strengths rather than focusing on written examinations and physical tests.
　心身両面で質の高い人材を集めることが以前にも増して重要になっている。筆記や体力テストよりも、人柄や内面を見る面接試験を今以上に重視するなど、資質を見極める工夫が求められる。

It is also crucial to increase study and training sessions for young police officers to inculcate them with the philosophy that the duty of police is to serve the public.
　若手警察官を対象にした研修の機会を増やし、国民への奉仕者であるという使命をしっかりと教え込むことも欠かせない。

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Senior officials lack experience

We also should not overlook another problem: the deterioration of abilities of police officers in managerial positions. Cases that illustrate this tendency have been increasing in recent years, such as senior police officials failing to notice fictitious statements in investigation records prepared by subordinates. Some observers point out that due to the rapid generation shift in senior officials in recent years, more and more police officers are assuming managerial positions without sufficient hands-on experience.
　管理職の能力低下も見過ごせない。部下が作成した虚偽の調書などを見抜けないケースが増えている。世代交代の波で、実務経験が乏しいまま管理職に就いた警察官が目立つとの指摘がある。

Police need to work harder to assess officials' administrative abilities more accurately through performance evaluations and promotion exams.
　人事評価や昇任試験などを通して、実務能力を的確に把握する必要があるだろう。

In the late 1990s, police came under harsh public criticism due to their mishandling of such incidents as the stalking and murder of a female college student in Okegawa, Saitama Prefecture. In response to such criticism, a panel of experts was established, and it made proposals on reforming the nation's police system in 2000. Following the proposals, police later introduced strict punishments for officers involved in scandals, among other reforms.
　警察は１９９０年代末、埼玉県桶川市のストーカー殺人事件などの不適切な対応で強い批判を浴びた。その反省から２０００年、警察改革として有識者による「警察刷新会議」が提言をまとめ、厳しい処分基準などを導入した。

Initially, the number of police officers subject to disciplinary actions dropped, but three years ago, the figure began increasing sharply. This is a worrying trend. The entire police organization should go back to the basic philosophy of the police reform, and work hard to tighten discipline.
　当初は処分者が減ったが、３年前から懲戒処分の件数が著しく増えているのは問題だ。警察組織全体が改革の原点に立ち返り、綱紀粛正に努めねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 5, 2013)
（2013年2月5日01時40分 読売新聞）