Robbery Suspect Arrested After Being Marked By “Color Ball”
In the past, I have blogged about the use of “color balls” as a crime-stopping tool in Japan. The balls, which contain paint that cannot be easily washed off, are throw or shot at suspects who are fleeing the scene of a crime, in the hope that they will be easily identifiable to pursuing police.
We can see its usefulness from this news report about a robbery in Saitama prefecture:
At around 2:15 AM this morning, a man with a knife rushed into a convenience store in the Nishi-Kawaguchi area, demanding money. The store employee handed over the cash, but wasn’t prepared to let the criminal have an easy escape. When the criminal ran out of the store and got on bicycle to flee the scene, the employee grabbed a crime prevention color ball and threw it at him. Most of the paint streaked onto the pavement, but some of it got on the bicycle. Police were later able to spot the paint-smeared bike and arrest the man.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
