The Hiroshima Prefectural Police Headquarters has reduced visual patrols to 1 in the wake of the suicide of a former chief superintendent of the Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Police Academy who was accused of sexually assaulting multiple women he met through a dating app. The police chief and other staff members involved were given disciplinary action, including a warning from the chief, as the incident was not carried out properly for an excessive amount of time.
Former Superintendent Koichi Iwamoto, who was the head of instruction at the Chugoku-Shikoku District Police Academy, was charged with sexually assaulting three women he met through a dating app, and sexually assaulting another woman. However, on the 17th of last month, he committed suicide in the toilet of the holding cell at Hiroshima Central Police Station.
The prefectural police headquarters investigated whether there were any problems with the detention system, and announced the results on the 15th.
According to the report, the police officer in charge patrolled the detention center of the former police superintendent at a predetermined frequency, but did not visually check the cell for more than an hour, and even though he was not seen, the police officer was not seen on the patrol list. It is said that he had written that he had completed his patrol.
The police officer said he noticed something strange about 15 minutes after completing his last patrol, opened the door to the toilet in the detention center and found the former chief superintendent unconscious, and told investigators that he was "on duty". "Because he was busy, he was patrolling without visual inspection."
In addition, the fact that the former superintendent of police had been shouting a month or so before his death was not properly shared, and the prefectural police headquarters said, ``The sense of crisis regarding the risk of suicide was weakening.'' That's what I mean.
Since several other police officers were also involved in insufficient patrols, the prefectural police headquarters issued a warning to the chief of the Hiroshima Central Police Station, and issued a warning to the chief of the detention management section of the station. The police officer who did this was punished.
Hiroshima Prefectural Police Chief of Police Affairs “deeply apologizes”
Yoshikatsu Nagano, head of the Hiroshima Prefectural Police Headquarters, said, ``We deeply apologize for blocking the path to uncovering the truth and damaging the trust of the victims of the incident and the citizens of the prefecture.To prevent a recurrence, we have implemented the following regulations. We will strive to maintain a sense of tension among our staff and conduct strict detention management operations by reviewing and strengthening guidance and education."