The National Police Agency released the crime situation for the past year, and of these, the number of criminal law crimes was approximately 703,000, more than 100,000 more than the year before. The National Police Agency states that ``the crime situation is in a severe situation,'' with the number of fraudulent remittances targeting online banking and the number of child abuse notifications reaching an all-time high.

According to the National Police Agency, there were 703,351 cases of criminal law crimes nationwide last year, an increase of 102,020 cases compared to the year before.



Criminal law crimes peaked at 2,854,000 in 2002 and decreased for 19 consecutive years until the post-war lowest point in 2021 (568,000), but it has increased for two consecutive years since the year before.



In terms of criminal law crimes, street crimes such as bicycle theft and assault/injury totaled 243,987, an increase of over 42,000 or 21% from the previous year.



The National Police Agency believes that this is due to the increased flow of people as the new coronavirus moves to Category 5.



In addition, the number of "major crimes" such as murder and robbery increased by 30% to 12,372.



The damage caused by special fraud was 19,033 cases, and the amount of damage was approximately 44.12 billion yen, the highest number in the past 15 years, and the amount of damage exceeded by more than 7 billion yen compared to the year before.



In addition, the amount of damage caused by fraudulent remittances through the misuse of Internet banking reached an all-time high of over 8.6 billion yen.



Furthermore, the number of children under the age of 18 reported to child consultation centers by police as suspected of being abused was 122,806, the highest number ever.



``The crime situation is in a severe situation,'' the National Police Agency said, adding, ``In order to ensure the safety and security of the public, we will prevent any gaps in vigilance and promote comprehensive countermeasures more strongly than ever.'' That's what I mean.

Special fraud: Most cases of overseas bases detected and arrested

Last year, 2,499 people were arrested for being involved in special fraud, and 69 people were arrested after their overseas bases were exposed, the highest ever.



According to the National Police Agency, there were 19,033 cases of special fraud confirmed nationwide last year, and the amount of damage was approximately 44.12 billion yen, an increase of 1,463 cases and 7.04 billion yen compared to the year before. .



The number of cases is the highest in the past 15 years, and the situation continues to be serious.



By method, the most common was 5,136 cases of fraudulent billing, which involves defrauding people of money by claiming that there are unpaid bills, etc., and the amount of damage amounted to over 13.8 billion yen.



In particular, ``support scams,'' which scam people out of cash or electronic money by displaying false warnings such as ``virus infection'' on a computer screen, are rapidly increasing.



A total of 2,499 people were arrested for being involved in special fraud, of which 69 people were arrested after bases in overseas countries such as the Philippines and Cambodia were exposed, the highest ever.



Starting in April this year, the National Police Agency will set up a ``Special Fraud Coalition Investigation Team'' with a strengthened system centered around police headquarters in large cities, in order to clarify the actual situation of fraud groups and strengthen strategic crackdowns. Masu.

Last year's number of recognized cases of "nonconsensual sexual intercourse" and "nonconsensual indecency"

Of the 12,372 serious crimes announced by the National Police Agency last year, 2,711 were for "nonconsensual sexual intercourse" and 6,096 were for "nonconsensual indecent assault."



"Non-consensual sexual intercourse" and "Non-consensual indecent assault" have been changed from the previous "forced sexual intercourse offences" in response to a series of acquittals in sexual violence trials and growing calls for a review of the provisions of sexual crimes. Last year, it was stipulated in the Penal Code by merging ``quasi-forced sexual intercourse,'' ``forced indecency,'' and ``quasi-forced indecency.''



Before the revision of the regulations, the number of incidents such as "forced sexual intercourse" and "semi-forced sexual intercourse" was an average of 157 per month in the six months up to June last year, but after the revision of the regulations, the number of incidents such as "non-consensual sexual intercourse" has increased. The number of cases averaged 295 per month in the six months up to the end of December last year, and although it is not possible to make a simple comparison, the National Police Agency is working hard to review the requirements for a crime to be established and create an environment that makes it easier to report damage. We believe that this is one of the reasons behind the increase in the number of recognized cases.

“Japan’s public safety has worsened” 71.9% National Police Agency awareness survey

Last October, the National Police Agency conducted an online survey on public safety awareness and received responses from 5,000 people.



When asked, "Do you think Japan is safe?", a total of 64.7% of respondents answered "I agree" or "I somewhat agree."



On the other hand, when asked, "Do you think the public safety in Japan has improved over the past 10 years?", a total of 14.1% answered "I think it has gotten better" and "I think it has gotten better." 71.9% of respondents said, ``I think it has gotten worse'' or ``If anything, I think it has gotten worse.''



When asked about the crimes that come to mind as a reason for those who answered that public safety is deteriorating, special fraud and cybercrime were at the top of the list.Reflecting the crime situation, so-called "perceived public safety" also worsened. You can see the situation.