Easing rules for police use of guns

警官の拳銃使用

Currently police officers can shoot at offenders only after first firing warning shots and only when they cannot protect themselves or others by different means, such as use of their nightsticks. Under the National Public Safety Commission's updated rules for the use and handling of handguns and nightsticks, they will be allowed to shoot without first firing warning shots. The National Police Agency says this will enable them to respond quickly to emergencies.

Security in Japan has deteriorated, as evidenced by the increased incidence of armed violence. This reflects increases in crimes committed by both Japanese and foreigners. Less restrictive use of handguns will improve police officers' ability to defend themselves and to protect the safety of citizens. That does not mean, however, that they can now indiscriminately kill violent offenders or put innocent people in harm's way.

It is also essential to improve the shooting abilities of frontline officers. But, again, this is not meant to give them free license to use their weapons. In real situations, handguns should be used only when necessary and with utmost caution.

The revised rules give as many as 80 different cases in which a handgun may be used. In each case, a series of four steps must be followed: (1) draw the weapon from the holster; (2) take a shooting position; (3) fire a warning shot; and (4) fire at the offender.

However, the third step may be skipped in imminently dangerous situations, such as when an offender with a dangerous weapon, such as a hot-rodder with a malicious intent, is making an assault on a police officer; an armed suspect is about to fire at his or her victim; or a person under police protection faces an immediate threat to his or her life.

The new rules also allow a police officer rushing to arrest an armed offender to draw out his handgun in advance so that the trigger can be pulled at any moment if necessary. When a knife-wielding person is about to assault passersby, the officer at the scene can also hold his gun at the ready.

Warning shots can be fired when, for example, a violent person with a dangerous weapon is getting away. So far police officers have been taught to restrain firing as much as possible. In fact, experience shows that the use of handguns has been extremely restrictive, creating the impression among the public that nonuse is the rule rather than the exception.

The current rules say police officers can point their pistols or fire them to a "minimum extent" as a substitute for other means — using nightsticks, for example — for such purposes as preventing the escape of the offender and protecting themselves or innocent citizens. With an emphasis on arrest and investigation, this has been a sensible way of preventing crime.

Not anymore. In August, a police officer on patrol in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward was stabbed to death after a scuffle with a knife-wielding man. The policeman could have escaped death if he had fired at the attacker. Similar incidents have occurred recently elsewhere in the country.

Last year alone, 24 police officers were attacked, one of them fatally, with guns and other weapons. The number is double that of the previous year. So far this year, three officers have died. The message is that death could have been avoided — and not just for police officers involved — if handguns had been properly used.

Of course, great caution must be exercised in the use of police weapons, given their ultimate purpose of wounding or killing offenders. That is why special training and education is needed to ensure their proper use. For example, poor shooting techniques could cause collateral damage, hurting or killing citizens nearby. Hence the urgent need to upgrade the level of shooting skills.

The past restrictive use of pistols reflected in part a public aversion to guns — a natural tendency in a society where citizens have long been prohibited from bearing arms. In the eyes of most Japanese, the average policeman is "gun-shy," contributing to the generally peaceful image of the police.

It is unlikely that the new rules will lead to a rapid increase in police shootings. But it is worth remembering that police officers carry arms to protect their lives and the safety of citizens. The rule revision makes it more important than ever to observe these cardinal principles. The best way to do so is to use handguns with utmost caution.

The Japan Times: Nov. 30, 2001
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     新規則に定められた、拳銃の使用が可能な80例では、拳銃をホルスターから抜き、射撃姿勢をとり、威嚇射撃を行い、発砲するという4つの手順を踏まねばならない。しかし武器を持った犯罪者が警官を攻撃した場合、容疑者が人を撃とうとしている場合、警察に守られるべき人の生命が危険な場合などの危機的状況では、3番目の手順を省略できる。規則はまた、武器を持った容疑者を逮捕する際やナイフを持った者が通行人を襲おうとしている場合に拳銃を抜いて、いつでも引き金を引ける状態にしておくことを許可している。

     今までは、犯罪者の逃走を防ぎ、警官と市民を守るため、警棒などの代替手段として、拳銃の｢最小限｣の使用が許されていた。逮捕と捜査を重視する状況下での犯罪防止策としては賢明な方法だろう。しかしそれはもう通用しない。東京の世田谷で8月、警官がナイフを持った男と格闘のすえ刺し殺された。拳銃を発砲していたら警官は助かっていたかもしれない。この類の事件が全国で起こっている。昨年だけで24人の警官が銃などの武器で攻撃され、1人が死亡した。今年はすでに3人の警官が死亡している。拳銃が適正に使用されていれば死者を出さずにすんだかもしれない。

     拳銃は細心の注意をもって使うべきで、適正な使用を徹底させる教育、射撃技能を向上させる訓練が必要になる。今までの慣行は銃に対する国民の嫌悪感を反映している。銃を使わず平和的というのが平均的な警官のイメージだ。新規則の適用により警官の発砲が急増する可能性は低い。しかし、警官は自身の命と国民の安全を守るために武器を携行していることを覚えておくべきだ。今回の規則改正で、この基本原則を遵守することが今まで以上に重要になったのである。

The Japan Times Weekly
Dec. 8, 2001
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