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A temporary police booth has been set up at a shelter for victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. The officers on duty deal with questions and concerns via a consultation window, and regularly patrol the shelters to ensure that order is maintained.
Around 1,000 displaced people from the neighboring town of Tomioka and the village of Kawauchi have gathered at the shelter since March 11. Police officials said that as people spend longer in evacuation shelters, stress has increased and there have been reports of donation fraud, theft of valuables recovered from destroyed residences, as well as personal safety issues to deal with.
The Koriyama police force issued the statement saying: "We are striving to ensure that evacuees can live their lives with even just a little extra peace of mind during this difficult time."
One evacuee said, "I have small children, so it is a huge relief to have policemen on patrol." Another said, "Just having a policeman come and talk to you while he's on patrol makes a big difference."
The temporary police post will be open for as long as the shelter is in operation.
© Compiled from news reports
8 Comments
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smithinjapan
Will there be any police there?
OrangeW3dge
Bravo. But shouldn't that have just been done anyway, everywhere?
nandakandamanda
Quote: One evacuee said, “I have small children, so it is a huge relief to have policemen on patrol.” Another said, “Just having a policeman come and talk to you while he’s on patrol makes a big difference.”
Sounds like a job for a police robot. (Made in Japan, of course)
Harry_Gatto
I wonder how many owners of unregistered bicycles have been booked?
No, seriously, this is good and better late than never.
Klein2
Not late, I would say. Just in time.
Two months, people. It has been two months. These people still in the shelters are practically a smorgasbord for graft, corruption, and any kind of exploitation you might think of. I might just as well add endless proselytizing as another hazard of shelter life.
These people should be moved to real homes in real communities as soon as possible. Most would be better off just starting over.
Having police is a good move, but a weird dynamic might be starting. Are they going to be watching the outsiders, or the residents? WIll they be used more and more to settle disputes? They probably should not get involved in that. These shelters might be turning into pseudo-societies, like prisons. Already, they are filled by people with no jobs, no households to speak of, an ambiguous social role, no plans, no consumption decisions or choices. I think these places are pathological.
Smythe
There is something very good if a Police officer will talk in a normal manner to people from children to in their teens, 20s-50s & into their later age FOR this is at a time of frustration beyong belief.
Something I was ALWAYS told when a young kid was when in question then ask a police officer & even up to a few yrs ago even in my late 70s on a m/c sort of mixed up where to go in a city. I would flag down an RCMP vehicle & YES they would give me good guidence.
KevininHawaii
I guess there is a little 'New Orleans' thug in all of us.... even Japanese people!
I really enjoyed those comments about how Japanese people were so much 'better' than the people in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.
Maybe we're all just human after all...
Serrano
Now Fukushima evacuees have a place to go to ask for directions.