【The voice of police in the affected areas】

○ Responding to trust

Inspector, Takahito Kimura, Community Division, Taro Residential Police Box, Miyako Police Station, Iwate Prefecture.

“I feel safe when I see you in your uniform”

These are the words that many people say to me when I do my rounds visiting people in their temporary housing or homes.

I was assigned to the Taro residential police box in June last year, after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Even though the Taro district was protected by a huge “X” shaped coastal levee 10m high and 2.5km long, the damage caused by the tsunami and fire was catastrophic, and even the residential police box was swept away.

The handover process when I first arrived consisted of just one patrol car and three registry books. The center for police activities was one room in the town offices, and I can recall bracing myself while thinking, “There’s a ton of work that needs to be done”.

A year has passed since then, and I am fully awakened to the “importance of having people place their trust in the police”.

Residents are still feeling anxious due to additional disasters and crimes targeting the affected areas, and they speak to me about how they are feeling. The mission of the police is to erase this anxiety, and if, by going on my rounds and patrols and keeping in close contact with them, I can provide some feeling of “safety” to the residents, nothing could make me happier.

At present, with the strong support provided by specially assigned officers from police forces across the nation, this police station is operating night and day to protect the residents' safety and security.

As one of these officers, I am prepared to do my best.

The strength of will of a police officer holding ground

Sergeant, Yoshimune Kawamura, Community Division, Kandori Residential Police Box, Kahoku Police Station, Miyagi prefecture.

From the time the Great East Japan Earthquake first occurred, my assignment was to recover bodies from the Okawa district, where many elementary school children fell victim, and transport them to the autopsy facility. Upon arrival at the site, I saw a blue sheet spread out on the pavement by the side of the road, and there were about a dozen bodies lying on it.

Separating the crying family members from the bodies so that they could be transported to the autopsy facility was a truly hard task, and with elementary school age children of my own, I could not help but identify with the bereaved family members. It was heart-breaking, and I could not stop my own tears. As this difficult work continued, I became demoralized and wanted to get away from this assignment of recovering and transporting bodies.

However, there was one young police officer who resolutely continued searching this disaster site. His wife, his son (2 years and 7 months old) and his daughter (7 months old) were all missing in this disaster site. He was resolutely shifting rubble that didn’t seem movable with normal human strength. Watching him continuing his silent search, I realised I could not abandon this site. When I thought about how he was feeling, and how the other bereaved families were feeling, even when I was fully engaged in the work, my tears did not stop.

Police officers were themselves victims in the affected areas, and there are times when you just want to turn your eyes away from the harrowing scenes. Even so, I kept my thoughts to myself, burying them in my heart, and held ground in this investigation site with the strength of will befitting a police officer.