### 2. Comprehensive Measures for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency

## (1) Activities of Juvenile Support Centers

The police have established juvenile support centers in all Prefectural Police departments $ ^{1} $ where juvenile guidance officials work in close cooperation with schools, child counseling centers, and other relevant institutions and organizations to implement comprehensive measures for the prevention of juvenile delinquency.

Note 1: As of 1 April 2009, 197 Juvenile Support Centers have been set throughout Japan. (68 are set outside of police facilities)

## 1 ) Juvenile Consultation Activities

Personnel with specialized knowledge about psychology or education, or have broad experiences in dealing with issues related to juvenile delinquency provide sympathetic counseling and advice to juveniles and parents who have worries or concerns.

## 2 ) Street Guidance Activities

In order to deter juvenile delinquency and promote the wholesome development of juveniles, it is necessary to take appropriate action before misconduct leads to delinquency. The police implement street guidance activities jointly with schools and relevant institutions, volunteer groups and local residents at various locations where juveniles are likely to gather, such as busy shopping districts, school perimeters, school routes, and parks.

## 3 ) On-going Guidance and Support

Upon the requests of juveniles or their parents, guidance and support are provided on an on-going basis to help juveniles recover, whether they were involved in juvenile consultations or street guidance activities etc. This is achieved through interviews, home visits, and participation in such activities as community service until their family, school, personal relationships and other environmental factors improve. Other measures include counseling for victims of bullying and sex crimes in which they deal with their concerns on a continuous basis.

## 4 ) Awareness Activities

The police are promoting the understanding of the realities of juvenile delinquency, crime victims and juvenile police activities by giving courses in delinquency prevention, drug abuse prevention etc. in schools, as well as holding discussion meetings about juvenile delinquency with local residents and parents.

## (2) Cooperation with Schools and Other Relevant Institutions

## 1 ) Juvenile Support Teams

Juvenile Support Teams consisting of representatives from schools, police, and child counseling centers provide guidance and support to juveniles on issues pertaining to their respective specialist fields, in order to respond appropriately to each juvenile’s particular problem situation. The police are also working in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to hold councils with such representatives from Prefectural Police forces and relevant institutions and organizations to make the most of the juvenile support teams.

## 2 ) Cooperation between Schools and the Police

Under the “school-police information sharing framework”, both schools and police mutually provide information about minors with juvenile delinquency problems. The framework is based on agreements concluded between education boards, and the police, and was operational in all prefectures as of 1 April 2009. Around 2,500 School-Police Liaison Councils have also been established in the jurisdictions of police stations and municipalities throughout Japan.

## 3 ) School Supporter

The School Supporter system assigns retired policemen and others to police stations to be available for dispatch by the request from schools to handle juvenile issues at schools, conduct patrols and consultation, and give advice on securing the safety of minors. As of 1 April 2009, this system has been adopted in 41 prefectures and approximately 500 people are assigned as staff.