Police officer - Keisatsukan

Japanese: 警察官 - けいさつかん

A general-grade national or local civil servant established to carry out police responsibilities as defined by the Police Act (Act No. 162 of 1954).

[Susumu Komatsu]

Responsibilities and status

Its responsibilities are stipulated as "to protect the lives, bodies and property of individuals, to prevent, suppress and investigate crimes, to arrest suspects, to police traffic, and to maintain public safety and order" (Article 2 of the same law). The old Police Law (Law No. 196 of 1947) adopted a two-pronged police system consisting of the National Police and the Municipal Police, with the former being staffed by police officers who were national civil servants, and the latter by police officials who were local civil servants. In contrast, the current Police Law unifies the National Police and the Municipal Police, and establishes prefectural police at the prefecture level, with the National Police Agency established as the national police agency that commands and supervises these prefectural police agencies within the scope of their jurisdiction. The National Police Agency is subject to the control of the National Public Safety Commission, which is placed under the Prime Minister (Article 5 of the same law), and the prefectural police are subject to the control of the Prefectural Public Safety Commission, which is placed under the prefectural governor (Article 38 of the same law). The term "police official" has been abolished and unified into "police officer."

[Susumu Komatsu]

Types of Police Officers

Police personnel at the National Police Agency consist of police officers, palace guards, administrative officers, technical officers, etc., while at prefectural police departments they consist of police officers, administrative officers, technical officers, etc. Of these, it is the police officers who exercise so-called police powers, and they are clearly distinguished from other types of police personnel.

[Susumu Komatsu]

Police Officer Duties

Police duties vary according to the police's functions. Roughly speaking, there are judicial police (criminal police) that investigate crimes and arrest suspects, security police that aim to maintain social peace and order, and administrative police that are involved in administrative functions in various fields such as health, transportation, and industry. Police officers are the core of the personnel responsible for police functions in these countries, but there are also other personnel involved in police functions based on special laws. For example, police officers - detectives (constables) and senior detectives (sergeants) - are responsible for criminal investigations, but there are also other personnel who perform police functions in certain fields such as railways and narcotics, such as railway police units and narcotics control officers. Because the duties of police officers are backed by strong power, the Police Duties Execution Act stipulates standards for the exercise of their official authority so as not to infringe on the lives and rights of citizens.

[Susumu Komatsu]

Police officer ranks

There are nine ranks for police officers: constable, sergeant, assistant inspector, inspector, superintendent, chief superintendent, senior superintendent, superintendent general, and superintendent general, and all police officers belong to one of these ranks. However, the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency is the highest-ranking police officer but does not have a rank. The Superintendent General's job title and rank name are the same as that of the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (Metropolitan Police Department). Sergeant is not a rank, but a job title given to police officers with the rank of constable who have excellent work records and are in charge of providing guidance to constables in their practical work. Ordinary police officers are initially appointed as constables, but those who are hired after passing the Type 1 national civil servant examination (so-called career police officers) are appointed as assistant inspectors as candidates for senior positions.

[Susumu Komatsu]

A job filled by a police officer

It is planned that certain posts will be filled by police officers. In the National Police Agency, posts such as the Commissioner General, Deputy Commissioner General, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Bureau Directors (excluding the Director General of the Communications Bureau), Regional Police Bureau Chiefs, and President of the National Police Academy will be filled by police officers, while in prefectural police, posts such as Superintendent General of the Metropolitan Police Department, Chief of Police Headquarters, Chief of Regional Headquarters, and Chief of Police Stations will be filled by police officers.

[Susumu Komatsu]

Appointment

All police officers employed by the National Police Agency are general-grade national civil servants, and their appointment and dismissal is carried out by the National Public Safety Commission with the approval of the Prime Minister for the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, and by the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency for police officers other than the Commissioner General.

Police officers employed by prefectural police (excluding those with the rank of superintendent or higher) are general local government officials. However, among the police officers employed by prefectural police, police officers with the rank of superintendent or higher (called "local police officers") are considered general national government officials. This system was established to ensure smooth operation of prefectural police affairs in response to national demands, since the affairs of the prefectural police include affairs of the prefectural police as well as affairs of a national nature. The appointment and dismissal of police officers employed by prefectural police is carried out by the National Public Safety Commission with the approval of the Prime Minister after obtaining the consent of the Metropolitan Public Safety Commission for the Superintendent General, the National Public Safety Commission with the approval of the Prefectural Public Safety Commission for the Prefectural Police Chiefs, Area Chiefs, and Local Police Officers, and the Superintendent General or Prefectural Police Chiefs for other police officers are appointed by the Superintendent General or Prefectural Police Chiefs after hearing the opinion of the Prefectural Public Safety Commission.

[Susumu Komatsu]

Capacity

The number of police officers employed in the National Police Agency is determined by the Law Concerning Quotas of Administrative Organs. The number of local police officers is determined by government ordinance through the prefectural police, and the number of police officers other than local police officers is to be determined by ordinance in accordance with the standards set by government ordinance.

The total number of police personnel in fiscal year 2000 was 267,599 (7,640 in the National Police Agency and 259,959 in prefectural police). Of these, the total number of police officers was 1,431 in the National Police Agency and 230,756 in the prefectural police (including 750 local police officers).

[Susumu Komatsu]

"Study of Patrol Police by Makoto Murayama (1990, Seibundo)" "Police and Local Communities in Modern Japan by Sumio Ohirakata (2000, Chikuma Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

警察法（昭和29年法律162号）の定める警察の責務を遂行するために置かれた一般職の国家公務員または地方公務員。

［小松　進］

責務・身分

その責務は、「個人の生命、身体及び財産の保護に任じ、犯罪の予防、鎮圧及び捜査、被疑者の逮捕、交通の取締その他公共の安全と秩序の維持に当ること」と規定されている（同法2条）。旧警察法（昭和22年法律196号）は、国家地方警察と市町村自治体警察の二本立ての警察制度を採用し、前者には国家公務員である警察官を置き、後者には地方公務員である警察吏員を置くこととしていた。これに対して、現行警察法は、国家地方警察と市町村自治体警察を一元化し、都道府県を単位として、都道府県警察を置くこととし、これらの都道府県の警察機関をその所掌事務の範囲内で指揮監督する国の警察機関として、警察庁を置いている。警察庁は内閣総理大臣の下に置かれる国家公安委員会の管理に服し（同法5条）、都道府県警察は都道府県知事の下に置かれる都道府県公安委員会の管理に服するものとされている（同法38条）。なお、警察吏員の名称はなくなり、警察官に統一された。

［小松　進］

警察職員の種類

警察職員は、警察庁にあっては、警察官、皇宮護衛官、事務官、技官等で構成され、都道府県警察にあっては、警察官、事務吏員、技術吏員等で構成される。このうち、いわゆる警察権を行使するのが警察官で、他の職種の警察職員と明確に区分されている。

［小松　進］

警察官の職務

警察の職務は、警察の作用・機能に応じて多様である。大まかにいえば、犯罪の捜査、被疑者の逮捕などを行う司法警察（刑事警察）、社会の安寧秩序の保持を目的とする保安警察、および衛生・交通・産業などさまざまな分野における行政作用に関連して行われる行政警察がある。これらの国の警察作用を担う職員の中心が警察官であるが、これ以外にも、特別法に基づいて警察作用にかかわる者もいる。たとえば、犯罪捜査にあたるのは警察官――刑事（巡査）や部長刑事（巡査部長）――であるが、これ以外にも鉄道、麻薬など一定の分野について鉄道警察隊、麻薬取締官など警察作用を担う者がいるのである。警察官の職務は強力な権力を背景とするものであるため、国民の生活・権利を侵害することがないよう、その職務権限の行使については警察官職務執行法によって規準が法定されている。

［小松　進］

警察官の階級

警察官には、巡査、巡査部長、警部補、警部、警視、警視正、警視長、警視監、警視総監の九つの階級があり、すべての警察官はいずれかの階級に属する。ただし、警察庁長官は、最高位の警察官であるが階級はもたない。また、警視総監は、都警察（警視庁）の長としての職名と階級名が一致するものである。なお、巡査長は、階級ではなく、巡査の階級にある警察官のうち勤務成績が優秀で巡査の実務の指導等にあたる者に与えられる職名である。一般の警察官は、最初、巡査に任ぜられるが、国家公務員Ⅰ種の試験に合格して採用された者（いわゆるキャリア警察官）は、幹部候補として警部補に任ぜられる。

［小松　進］

警察官をもってあてる職

一定の職については、警察官がその職につくことが予定されている。警察庁については、警察庁長官、次長、官房長、局長（通信局長を除く）、管区警察局長、警察大学校長等の職は警察官をもってあてることとされており、都道府県警察については、警視総監、警察本部長、方面本部長、警察署長の職等が警察官をもってあてることとされている。

［小松　進］

任免

警察庁に置かれる警察官は、すべて一般職の国家公務員であり、その任免は、警察庁長官については国家公安委員会が内閣総理大臣の承認を得て行い、警察庁長官以外の警察官については警察庁長官がこれを行うこととされている。

　都道府県警察に置かれる警察官（警視正以上の階級にある者を除く）は、一般職の地方公務員である。しかし、都道府県警察に置かれる警察官のうち、警視正以上の階級にある警察官（これを「地方警務官」という）は一般職の国家公務員とされている。この制度は、都道府県警察の行う事務が当該都道府県警察の事務と国家的性格を帯びた事務をも含むところから、国家的要請にこたえた事務運営が円滑に行われるようにとの配慮から設けられた制度であるとされている。都道府県警察に置かれる警察官の任免は、警視総監については国家公安委員会が都公安委員会の同意を得たうえ内閣総理大臣の承認を得て行い、道府県警察本部長、方面本部長、地方警務官については国家公安委員会が都道府県公安委員会の承認を得て行い、これら以外の警察官については警視総監または道府県警察本部長がそれぞれ都道府県公安委員会の意見を聞いて行うこととされている。

［小松　進］