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Prefectural police
In the law enforcement system in Japan, prefectural police (都道府県警察, todōfuken-keisatsu) are prefecture-level law enforcement agencies responsible for policing, law enforcement, and public security within their respective prefectures of Japan. Although prefectural police are, in principle, regarded as municipal police, they are mostly under the central oversight and control of the National Police Agency.
As of 2020, the total strength of the prefectural police is approximately 260,000 sworn officers and 28,400 civilian staff, a total of 288,400 employees.
In the Empire of Japan, territorial police forces were organised as departments of police of each prefectural offices (府県警察部 [ja], fuken-keisatsu-bu). They were placed under complete centralized control, with the Police Affairs Bureau (警保局 [ja], Keiho-kyoku) of the Home Ministry at their core.
After the surrender of Japan, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers regarded this centralized police system as undemocratic. During the occupation of Japan, the principle of decentralisation was introduced by the 1947 Police Law (警察法 [ja], Keisatsu-hō) (now commonly referred to as "Old Police Law"). Cities and large towns had their own municipal police services (自治体警察 [ja], jichitai keisatsu), and the National Rural Police (国家地方警察 [ja], Kokka Chihō Keisatsu) was responsible for smaller towns, villages and rural areas. However, most Japanese municipalities were too small to have an effectively large police force, so sometimes they were unable to deal with large-scale violence. In addition, excessive fragmentation of the police organisation reduced the efficiency of police activities.
As a response to these problems, complete restructuring created a more centralized system under the 1954 amended Police Law (警察法, Keisatsu-hō). All operational units except for the Imperial Guard were reorganized into the prefectural police departments for each prefecture and the National Police Agency was established as the central coordinating agency for these police departments.
Each prefectural police department comprises a police authority and operational units: Prefectural Public Safety Commissions (PPSC) and Prefectural Police Headquarters (PPH).
Prefectural Public Safety Commissions (都道府県公安委員会 [ja], todōfuken kōan īnkai) are administrative committees established under the jurisdiction of prefectural governors to provide citizen oversight for police activities. A committee consists of three members in an ordinary prefecture and five members in urban prefectures. The members of prefectural public safety commission are appointed by the governor with the consent of the prefectural assembly.
In Tokyo, the Prefectural Police Headquarters (警察本部 [ja], keisatsu-honbu) specifically refers to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁, Keishi-chō; TMPD). Also, Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters is known as dō-keisatsu-honbu (道警察本部 [ja]), and those in Ōsaka and Kyoto Prefectures are known as fu-keisatsu-honbu (府警察本部), and are distinguished from other Prefectural Police Headquarters (県警察本部, ken-keisatsu-honbu).
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Prefectural police
In the law enforcement system in Japan, prefectural police (都道府県警察, todōfuken-keisatsu) are prefecture-level law enforcement agencies responsible for policing, law enforcement, and public security within their respective prefectures of Japan. Although prefectural police are, in principle, regarded as municipal police, they are mostly under the central oversight and control of the National Police Agency.
As of 2020, the total strength of the prefectural police is approximately 260,000 sworn officers and 28,400 civilian staff, a total of 288,400 employees.
In the Empire of Japan, territorial police forces were organised as departments of police of each prefectural offices (府県警察部 [ja], fuken-keisatsu-bu). They were placed under complete centralized control, with the Police Affairs Bureau (警保局 [ja], Keiho-kyoku) of the Home Ministry at their core.
After the surrender of Japan, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers regarded this centralized police system as undemocratic. During the occupation of Japan, the principle of decentralisation was introduced by the 1947 Police Law (警察法 [ja], Keisatsu-hō) (now commonly referred to as "Old Police Law"). Cities and large towns had their own municipal police services (自治体警察 [ja], jichitai keisatsu), and the National Rural Police (国家地方警察 [ja], Kokka Chihō Keisatsu) was responsible for smaller towns, villages and rural areas. However, most Japanese municipalities were too small to have an effectively large police force, so sometimes they were unable to deal with large-scale violence. In addition, excessive fragmentation of the police organisation reduced the efficiency of police activities.
As a response to these problems, complete restructuring created a more centralized system under the 1954 amended Police Law (警察法, Keisatsu-hō). All operational units except for the Imperial Guard were reorganized into the prefectural police departments for each prefecture and the National Police Agency was established as the central coordinating agency for these police departments.
Each prefectural police department comprises a police authority and operational units: Prefectural Public Safety Commissions (PPSC) and Prefectural Police Headquarters (PPH).
Prefectural Public Safety Commissions (都道府県公安委員会 [ja], todōfuken kōan īnkai) are administrative committees established under the jurisdiction of prefectural governors to provide citizen oversight for police activities. A committee consists of three members in an ordinary prefecture and five members in urban prefectures. The members of prefectural public safety commission are appointed by the governor with the consent of the prefectural assembly.
In Tokyo, the Prefectural Police Headquarters (警察本部 [ja], keisatsu-honbu) specifically refers to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁, Keishi-chō; TMPD). Also, Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters is known as dō-keisatsu-honbu (道警察本部 [ja]), and those in Ōsaka and Kyoto Prefectures are known as fu-keisatsu-honbu (府警察本部), and are distinguished from other Prefectural Police Headquarters (県警察本部, ken-keisatsu-honbu).