Police box - koban

A police station is a subordinate organization of a police station, and is the base of operations for local police officers (uniformed police officers). Police officers are stationed in shifts and work day and night. As of April 2009, there are approximately 6,200 police stations. The jurisdiction of each police station is divided into districts under the jurisdiction of either a police box or a police substation, and police boxes are mainly located in urban areas. Police officers working at a police box are primarily responsible for the surveillance of the police box, patrolling within their district, and making rounds to contact homes and businesses. They understand the actual conditions of the area and the needs of the residents, and carry out activities to meet the needs of the local residents, while maintaining a constant state of alert and responding immediately to various police incidents, thereby ensuring the safety of the area. Police officers at police boxes receive various enquiries from people who come to the box, and submit reports of lost property and found items, as well as patrol, question suspicious people, and prevent and arrest crimes, as well as policing traffic, providing guidance to juveniles, and protecting lost and drunk people. In order to avoid police boxes being left unattended due to patrols, in recent years, police box counselors have been posted in addition to police officers, and are responsible for accepting and taking care of reports and providing geographical guidance.

In the early days of the Metropolitan Police Department, there were no police boxes like we have today, and police officers generally stood in shifts at designated intersections, but in 1881 (Meiji 14), "police stations" similar to today's police boxes were established. Police stations were bases where police officers took turns standing guard, received orders by telegraph (installed in 1891), patrolled the surrounding area, and were also facilities for rest. The name "police box" was used as one of the names for police boxes, but it became the official name in the revision of the Police Law in 1994 (Heisei 6). Among the facilities (police boxes) where police officers are dispatched, those that were established only to meet special police needs and did not have a jurisdiction are called security police boxes and are distinguished from police boxes.

[Masahiro Tamura]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

警察署の下部機構の一つで、地域警察官（制服警察官）の活動拠点。交代制の警察官が配置され、昼夜を問わず勤務する。2009年（平成21）4月の時点で、約6200か所設置されている。警察署の管轄区域はすべて、いずれかの交番または駐在所の所管区に分かれており、交番は主として都市部に置かれる。交番に勤務する警察官は、交番での警戒監視、所管区内のパトロールおよび各家庭・事業所等への巡回連絡を行うことを基本的な勤務としている。地域の実態や住民の要望を把握して、地域住民の要望にこたえる活動を行うとともに、つねに警戒体制を保ち、さまざまな警察事象に即座に対応することで、地域の安全の確保にあたっている。交番の警察官は、交番に来る人から各種相談を受け、遺失届・拾得物の提出を受けるとともに、パトロールに出て、不審な者への職務質問を行い、犯罪の予防検挙にあたるほか、交通指導取締り、少年の補導、迷子・酔っ払いの保護などにあたる。パトロール等によって交番が不在になるのを避けるため、近年では、警察官のほか、交番相談員が配置され、届出の受理や預かり、地理案内等にあたっている。

　警視庁の場合、最初期には現在のような交番はなく、決められた交差点に交替で警察官が立って勤務するのが一般的であったが、1881年（明治14）には、今日の交番にあたる「巡査派出所」が設けられた。派出所は、警察官が交代で警戒に立ち、電信（1891年に配備）で指令を受け、周辺地域のパトロールを行う拠点であり、休息する施設でもあった。「交番」という名称は、派出所の呼び名の一つとして用いられていたが、1994年（平成6）の警察法改正で正式な名称となった。なお、警察官が派出される施設（派出所）のうち、特別の警察需要に応ずるためだけに設けられ、所管区のないものは、警備派出所という名称でよばれ、交番と区別される。

［田村正博］

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