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Police Information System

 The police develop and maintains the Police Information Systems which support front-line police activities, contribute to fast police administration and serve as the environment required for sharing information with international organizations. In addition, the police have the business continuity plan to secure the functions of the Systems so that the systems continue to operate in case of emergency including disasters.
 The Police Information Management Systems, categorized as one of the Police Information Systems, connect the NPA and the prefectural police, allowing them to create and use a wide range of information that contributes to crime investigation and police administration. In response to requests from front-line police officers via radios and other means, the Inquiry Centers of the prefectural police headquarters conduct searches in their or NPA’s databases and answer back with the results to the police officers.

Support for Front-line Police Activities-1

 By registering information on wanted suspects, missing persons, and stolen vehicles with the NPA, the system responds immediately to inquiries from front-line police officers and supports the police activities.

Support for Front-line Police Activities-2

 To support criminal investigation, the NPA operates the Automated Fingerprint and Palm Print Identification System that stores fingerprints and palmprints of criminals and latent fingerprints and palmprints that criminals were considered to have left at crime scenes in the NPA database and compares them automatically. In accordance with the PCSC Agreement*1, Japan and the United States have established an information system using the database to automatically query and respond to fingerprint information, which is used to prevent and investigate serious crimes such as terrorism.

    

* PCSC Abbreviation of Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of United States of America on Enhancing Cooperation in Preventing and Combating Serious Crime

Support for Front-line Police Activities-3

 The Information Analysis Support System comprehensively analyzes clues, combining mapped crime-related information such as crime modus operandi and criminal statistics, and information from other systems. The operation of this system supports front-line criminal investigation.

Support for Front-line Police Activities-4

 In accordance with the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, the National Public Safety Commission and the NPA gather and analyze information that enterprises should report to the relevant administrative agencies. The information is provided to law enforcement organizations for use in money laundering crime investigations.

*2 FIU:Financial Intelligence Unit

Support for Front-line Police Activities-5

 The NPA operates an information system that enables checking of the information on Japan-bound passengers and crew members against the information on wanted persons held by relevant ministries and agencies before their entry into Japan. This system is designed to strengthen the immigration control and improve the efficiency of investigations into international crimes.

Contribution to Prompt Police Administrative Services-1

 The NPA centrally manages information regarding driver’s licenses by its database. The system mainly contributes to on-the-day issuance of driver’s licenses, prevention of dishonest acquisition of the licenses and appropriate implementation of administrative punishment under traffic violation points system.

Contribution to Prompt Police Administrative Services-2

 The NPA also manages information regarding the permission for possession of firearms based on the Act for Controlling the Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons. PPHs use this information to exclude inappropriate possessors, to detect stolen firearms and so on.

    

Smoother Information Sharing among the International Organization(I-24/7)

 The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO – INTERPOL) is the world’s largest international police organization with 194 member countries and areas including Japan. It facilitates cross-border police cooperation to prevent or combat international crimes. ICPO has its own independent and secure global communications network named “I-24/7 (Interpol Global Communications System 24/7)” to build the environment to ensure the collection and exchange of information on international crimes promptly. Member countries and areas are able to access Interpol’s various databases through I-24/7.
 The NPA has established the necessary environment to use various types of information held and accumulated by ICPO such as international arrangements, lost and stolen passports through I-24/7. The NPA operates and manages the network 24 hours 7 days.

Ensuring the Business Continuity of Information Systems

 The NPA promotes efforts to ensure business continuity so that the information systems can maintain their functions even while implementing emergency disaster response operations in the event of a natural disaster.
 Specifically, the NPA is taking measures to ensure the functions of information systems with high-priority operations in emergency, such as setting backup to avoid data loss, making communication lines redundant in case communication services are suspended, and securing operators and maintenance officers. In addition, the NPA regularly offers practical education and training to the officers so that the officers can maintain and improve the effectiveness of these measures.