POLICE ABUSE/NEGLIGENCE?
KEYWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW, CIVIL RIGHTS, POLICE ABUSE

Sometimes one wonders. Japanese police and prosecutors have an astounding 99% conviction rate in criminal cases. Reminds one of Saddam Hussein’s elections as well as elections in former Communist states. One court however, the Saga District Court, threw out one criminal case as he thoughr the evidence had been obtained illegally and the 67 page “confession”  “looked as though they have been made through the guidance of (police) investigators.” The Morioka District Court stated that the police had obtained a search warrant based on false information, but the court still convicted the man on drug violations. The Tokyo District Court also ordered the Tokyo Municipal Government to pay 6.3 million yen for a policeman’s shooting of a Chinese man. The man became paralyzed from the shot. The policeman was trying to stop the man for questioning. The Tokyo High Court however reversed the decision of the Yokohama District Court that found that a policeman had shot dead a man during interrogation. The high court said he committed suicide (during interrogation?). But yes, that was indeed the allegation of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police and the high court agreed. The Tokyo police voluntarily agreed to pay one person one million yen after arresting the woman accused of assisting a robbery. Turns out she had an iron clad alibi. The Kobe District Court held the Hyogo Prefecture Police liable for 97 million for their grossly negligent handling of a murder of a 27 year old grad student. The court said the police were late to arrive after an emergency call and failed to further adequately investigate after another victim in the event claimed that the murdered party had been abducted. (Bet this gets reversed)

One police agency after another through out Japan were found to have been misappropriating millions in funds for inappropriate purposes. The problem had been discussed for years even in the media but the police had been defiant. A parliamentary investigation found the police denying everything. There have also been reports of similar problems at some Public Prosecutors Offices.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman

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