I'm happy to put something positive on Punatalk!

[nana valley]

http://www.hawaiipolice.com/news/commendations

I actually was glad to see these complimentary letters of our police.[]

He who hoots with owls at night cannot soar with the eagles in the morning.

[TomK]

Thanks, nana. I've not had a lot of contact with the police here although have to admit I've had significantly more contact in the last couple of years compared to before. Just about every time they have been professional and courteous. On the other hand I know they are short of officers so the (very) occasional time I've been disappointed has been because they were busy with more urgent business. I'm glad other people are willing to write letters of thanks but clearly there are still a few issues, especially in Puna, and almost certainly due to the lack of officers. On the third hand I know others here have different experiences.

Tom
http://apacificview.blogspot.com/

[TomK]

And I'm looking at more of the messages from the public on the website nana mentioned. Bravo. There are some good and caring police officers here.

Tom
http://apacificview.blogspot.com/

[unknownjulie]

I know someone who is trying to get on the force this fall and it sounds like they are doing some hiring then. I agree that overall they do a good job. I mean, they have to deal with disgruntled or aggressive people all day/night long. It's a tough job.

[4antares]

Due to neighbors with ongoing domestic difficulties I've had several interactions with the police interactions over the last few weeks. In all of them but one they have been calm and professional. But that one involved an officer who's utter lack of professionalism left me no doubt that he should not be wearing a badge and absolutely should not be carrying a gun. Unfortunately one rotten egg can make all the others seem questionable.

life is short. enjoy it

[Guest]

I have been much more impressed with the police here then in any other state I have lived in, I really have not dealt with them at all. I still have a soft spot for highway troopers in west Texas. Japan had the most impressive police, but having police like that would take a cultural shift.

[Cagary]

Years ago I was hitchhiking in Japan. I was on a highway on ramp when a policeman stopped his car and came toward me. I thought he was going to tell me I couldn't stand where I was, but he just asked me where I was going. I told him and he left. A few minutes later he returned with a piece of cardboard. On it was written the city I told him I was trying to get to.

-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".

[punafish]

quote:

---

Originally posted by afwjam

... Japan had the most impressive police, but having police like that would take a cultural shift.

---

Also like the police box concept in Japan: cheap (literally a pre-fab box), simple, part of the community. They don't spend millions of dollars on a shiny, high-tech station then short-staff the number of policemen on patrol. (Versus Pahoa spending a boatload of money on a new station but continuing to woefully understaff the police force.)

But there's a "dark side"--and you're right that the Japanese system wouldn't transfer well to our culture. The system in Japan is built on a collectivist, authoritarian, Confucian value system that puts the good of the group above individual rights, a Libertarian's nightmare for sure. Japanese policemen can hold suspects for a very long time (3 weeks last I checked) without bringing formal charges. (Note the legal system in Japan is not about protecting individual rights; rather, it's about mediating social harmony.)

Still, I'd like to think that we could learn lessons from other cultures. But the will on our insular island doesn't seem to be there. Hopefully one day things will change for the better.

[Guest]

Have you spent much time in Japan? The police are the opposite of authoritarian. Japan is a homogeneous collectivist culture, but it is not Confucian, you are thinking of China. Respect is the key to their culture, they tend to shame rather then exert overt authority. One new years morning at about 5 am when my group of Japanese friends were leaving the bar in Ikebukuro we were to drunk to find the train station, so one of the girls went into the police station which scared the **** out of me, the police officer kindly took her to the stairs in 10 feet in front of the station which led down to the platform. Another time when I was flying down the highway at ungodly speeds in my friends silvia, it was interesting that the police did not pursue, despite speeds of well over a ton. Really revolutionized my thinking on authority.

[punafish]

Aloha afw!

(Will preface my words by saying to Rob Tucker, that I'll try very hard to tie this to Puna at the end.)

Check your history, my friend. Anyone who knows anything about Japan will tell you it's a Confucian society from top to bottom, as Japan's very own Prince Shotoku in the early 7th century consciously and deliberately imported it from China. (He loved the notion of the "mandate of heaven" because, surprise, surprise, it fit his political agenda.) Confucianism was eventually encoded into Bushido, the way of the warrior.

But I agree that most Japanese policemen don't throw their weight around...most of the time. That's because they don't have to, as Japanese are extremely deferential to authority. (And yes you are correct that Japan is also a shame culture.) I've had great experiences with Japanese policemen. But I've also seen them get very authoritarian very quickly. For a great introduction to Japanese Confucianism, read Confucius Lives Next Door by T.R. Reid. Also try Jake Adelstein's book, "Tokyo Vice" and Robert Whiting's "American Gangster in Japan". (Actually anything by Whiting is great.) And for drier more detailed stuff, try Ruth Benedict's "Chrysanthemum and the Sword", Takie Lebra's "Japanese Patterns of Behavior", and anything by Edwin Reischauer for detailed history.

(By the way, I spent 10 years in Japan, graduated from a Japanese university with a degree in cultural anthropology specializing in Japanese culture. I read, write and speak the language fluently. Also co-authored a book in Japanese about cultural differences in the workplace between Japan and the West.)

What does this have to do with Puna?

1) Understanding Japanese culture will give the reader a glimpse at some of the values that took hold here in Hawaii, especially among the local Japanese population, although admittedly the values have been diluted and adapted.

2) I'd love to see the Police Box system introduced here within the framework of our laws and culture, preferably smack dab in the middle of our future roundabouts. Just a fanciful wish...

3) Sure wish our police force here in Hawaii had the same manpower and resources as their Japanese counterparts.

Hope that works for you Rob. If not, my apologies.