14th Global Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons
5th June 2013; at Fuji Calm
The role of
community organizations for
'safety patrol'
Soichiro MAEYAMA Ph.D
Fukuyama City University
2-19-1 Minatomachi, Fukuyama city,
Hiroshima Prefecture 721-0964
Tel 084-999-1111
[email protected]
(1) Fundamental Perspective
【 Fundamental Perspective 】
How could we maintain
the community-safety commons ?
Through examining a case of one neighborhood in Japan, we would
try to access those aspects in Japanese neighborhoods that within
them have peculiar 'traditional' organizations and agencies.
Definition
・Landscape Commons
・ Inner City Environment
Commons
・Community/
Neighborhood Safety
Commons
Urban Commons
○ Urban Situation is conceived：
“common space”
Common Pool Resource
“common sphere”
○・- should be maintained by residents
who enjoy the merit of it.
・ Vulnerable – needs sanction
or rules for maintaining work
Common
Pool Regime
○Relates to the “Inner-Municipal(Locality)
Decentralization” and “Neighborhood Autonomy”.
↓
Let us put a focus on aspects :
① Structure of Neighborhoods that have
impact on “the community-safety commons”
② the rule for providing residents‘ work for
maintaining “the community-safety
commons”
(It just started , but we would like to get some
implication)
(2) Small history
・ The Osaka School Massacre （Ikeda Elementary
School） on June 8, 2001
（8 student murdered, 13 student injured , 2 teachers injured
by 37 years old guy who broke in .)
・Safety Patrol Movement 200１～
Safety Patrols eminently occurred , especially for
safety for elementary students, in all over Japan.
That is implemented against critical crimes,
gropers, kidnapping, traffic accidents. (especially
2002-2005)
Three patterns of Safety Patrol
1) Established by initiative of Board of
Educations
2) Established as voluntary safety patrol ,
sometime encouraged by the police.
most
usual
3) safety patrol as corporate social responsibility
by companies
(3) Structure of Neighborhood Organizations
and “Safety Commons”
-Case study-Matsunaga Area ,Fukuyama City
(Hiroshima Prefecture)
※Interview :Mr.Hironari YAMAZAKI (8 April 2013)
OB of the city of Fukuyama, President of Neighborhood Council,
President of Chonaikai league
・When,Mr. YAMAZAKI became a director of Crime
Prevention Federation due to his retirement, he
found peoples commitment inactive (2003).
↓
・He tried to cultivate organizations (Crime Prevention
Federation, partnership with the Hiroshima Police
etc)
↓
・Runover accident by dump truck in the neighborhood
(Ayano Takahashi ( 7 ) was killed, 16 July 2010)
Establishment of Matsunaga Safety Patrol Team (Dec. 2010)
Formation Layout for “Safety Patrol” in
Matsunaga Area
Prefecture,
the City
Police
Station
local welfare
commissioner
（民生委員）
Several
Crime Prevention
Federation
Women's
Club
(防犯組合連合会）
（女性会）
Local Safety
Promoter (59)
（地域安全推進員）
30
persons
Registered
volunteers
24
perso
ns
90
pers
ons
Safety Patrol Team
Traffic
Safety
Associatio
n（交通安
全協会）
？
Established Dec. 2010 (comprised 110 persons)
？
PTA
？
？
Children’ Group
（子ども会）
Chonaikai
(町内会）
Establishment and works
(Matsunaga Safety Patrol Team)
safety items
such as
jackets, small flag, plates for
bicycles etc
○Every morning (going school time)
50 persons stand on 15 spots
(crossroads or critical spots)
○ 15 to 16 persons in the goinghome time (3pm-4pm)
Insight about formation
1) “Safety Patrol Team” establishment comes from:
successfully bundling old-type/ agency-woven
organizations (local welfare commissioner,
Crime Prevention Federation, Women's Club)
and new citizens (New Commer citizens)
Local Welfare Commissioner:
A welfare commissioner prescribed in the Welfare Commissioners Act （Act No.
198 of 1948） shall assist in the execution of the affairs of a municipal mayor, welfare office
director or social welfare officer with regard to the enforcement of this Act. Mainly they
are supposed to commit for low income persons, handicapped persons in the community.
Crime Prevention Federation
And the president of Crime Prevention Federation and Chief of Police Station
(Fukuyama PS West) delegate Local Safety Promoters (about 1 LS Promoters per 100
households) (Regulation for Crime Prevention Federation in Fukuyama West Police Ward).
Each Crime Prevention organization is woven in each Chonaikai as well.
2) Strategy of two way for involvement
1. old-type/ agency-woven organizations
(local welfare commissioner,
Crime Prevention Federation, Women's Club)
→ relatively active.(especially local welfare commissioner)
→ networking with the police station works
2. New citizens
→ inactive （after the dump accident active)
→ Call letters for each houses
Finding
Question
[How neighborhoods and its residents could
have impact on it?]
Bundling old-type/ agency-woven organizations (Crime Prevention
Federation etc.) and new citizens has eminent potential for building
and maintaining the neighborhood safety commons in Japan.
In the case of Matsunaga, Fukuyama City, that two way method for
involvement has effect.
That is quite different from the context of Community Watch and
Community Policing in US.
(4) Rule
【Question】
how the rule for residents‘ work for maintaining
safety is established?
Discussion about building rule for neighborhood commons
just started
Some implication
(Inactive organizations)
In the case of inactive organizations, people,
the “free ride” issue might be obvious.
Free Ride?
○Free ride?
Who works for the “neighborhood safety
commons”? And Who enjoys the benefits of it?
commons for whom? commons by whom？
commons of whom?
During the process , “PTA , Children’s Groop,
and Chonaikais do not work”.(Mr.Yamazaki)
Chonaikai (町内会）
Omnipresent type of neighborhood organizations since circa 1900 . At present
380,000 exist in Japan . In standard case it is comprised of 300 households (with 20-40
households units named “Han(班）”s）．
Households in neighborhoods tend to automatically and quasi- compulsory
become members. The mission is beautification , easy support for the city (distribute city’s
newsletter), gathering.
Pain for not being involved
“ Some parents seem not to attend PTA and
Children's group, when they do not feel some
profit through their activities. The people who
come outside of this area might tend to be so.
Kids from such families tend to ignore us, when
we speak "good mooring to him/her ".
”
(Mr.Yamazaki)
Related issue:
Relationship with PTA and School
Straight communication
Matsunaga (Mr.Yamazaki)
pushed PTA for the active
attendance, some of PTA members
stared to commit
Involving School and PTAs
・Public meeting :Neighborhood- School-PTA
Hashikami (Aomori Prefecture) (2005)
・Involving School and PTA (Matsunaga ,
Higashimura School area- Mr.Unemoto )
-urged School for Safety Map-making Class
A Case about the rule making in a
public meeting.
Ishinohachi Elementary School (2005)
(Hashikami City, Aomori)
☆For establishing safety patrol team Residents and PTAs had meeting with
attendance of the elementary school principal . (PTA seemed to be inactive).
Some residents claimed, “It is strange that for the safety of Kids, PTA parents do
not commit.
↓
Started the partner type attendance of both residents and PTA parents.
Chart for establishing safety
network and systemization
1) Communication
2)systemization of each commit of each sector
(neighborhood, PTA, school)
・network –meeting
・involving school and PTA
(school event, class: leads to the commitment)
3) Institutionalization
Conclusions
1) Comprehensively Bundling multi types of organizations
(old-conservative and new/ old agency-related and free),
with multi strategy has eminent potential for building and
maintaining the “neighborhood safety commons” in Japan.
That strategy comes form peculiar Japanese context.
"Common Pool Resource"
2) Chonaikais and PTAs are the key organizations that tend to
be slow-in action.
3) On the other hand for building rule for works for the
“neighborhood safety commons”, some trials just have
been occurring for safety-network building, especially
building network of neighborhood-PTA-school framework.
“Common Pool Regime”