Here is an amusing column from the LA Times about a bicycle theft in Tokyo. For those of us who often confuse the police with those guys who wave the red sticks directing traffic in and out of carparks, the article is also a testimonial to the quality of the work done by the fine men and ladies who protect Japan from their unassuming little kobans.

From the article…

“In my experience, kobans appeared to be little more than glorified information booths where people stop in to ask for directions. The most common sight at a koban is a uniformed officer hunched over his desk map, tracing a route with his finger for a confused citizen.

But it was from his koban in Suginami Ward about three miles from my home that Yoshioka had spotted the bike thief. It was after midnight, and the cops were on the lookout for suspicious behavior. Suginami is a high break-and-enter neighborhood, Yoshioka tells me later (another blow to the stereotype), one of the worst in Tokyo.”

If you live in Suginami Ward lock your doors.