<figure id="attachment_409700" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-409700" style="width: 855px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3d230786"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/99a24e351071a35417e8f4910658cca1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-409700" class="wp-caption-text">Police Commissioner Yasuhiro Hiroki feels a sense of urgency about the increase in black market robberies</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Be wary of &#8220;a house without a door</h2>
<p> Serial robberies by &#8220;black market jobbers&#8221; have become a major social problem.</p>
<p> The robbers target the time when people are at home, restraining them and forcibly asking them where their valuables are. Their rough and heinous tactics, which sometimes extend to murder, have shaken the public.</p>
<p> On December 24, 2011, at a meeting of about 60 police executives from across Japan held at the National Police Agency, Yasuhiro Hiroki, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated <span class="strongInContent">, &#8220;We are at a turning point where we must shift the axis of our organized crime countermeasures from gangs to Tokuryu (anonymous and mobile criminal groups)</span>.</p>
<p> How can we take measures against burglary by black market criminals, who are becoming a greater threat than gangs?　We asked Toshihiko Matsumaru, a former Metropolitan Police Department investigator and crime prevention consultant, for &#8220;crime prevention measures&#8221; that can be started immediately (all statements below are from Matsumaru).</p>
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<p> In Tokuryu, there is a casing officer under the instructing officer. There is almost never a break-in at the first opportunity. They always preview the premises before committing the crime, disguised as a survey caller, door-to-door salesman, or remodeling contractor, etc.</p>
<p> Many houses that have been burglarized by Tokuryu are located far from their neighbors or surrounded by high walls or trees, making them difficult to see from the outside. Houses with few lights and no security cameras or security company stickers are also easy targets. Houses with luxury cars parked in them are also easy targets. If they come to inspect a house and see a luxury car parked in the parking lot, criminals will think, &#8220;Surely they have money.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Items that discourage break-ins"></div>
<h2>Buying Time&#8221; is the Top Priority</h2>
<figure id="attachment_409702" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-409702" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="feb7bcc5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/0b631c9cc30115493ce885dc7749730e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-409702" class="wp-caption-text"> The immigration facility in the Philippines where the group that shook Japan as the &#8220;Roofie Wide Area Robbery&#8221; was housed.</figcaption></figure>
<p> The criminals do not like houses with dogs because they may bark when breaking into the house, which may reveal the crime to the surrounding people. Some groups conduct casing inspections under the guise of door-to-door sales to see if dogs bark when the intercom is pressed. The most effective way to prevent crime is to make people think that the house is difficult to enter at the preview stage.</p>
<p> For example, if you sign a contract with a security company, they will give you a sticker with the logo &#8220;SECOM&#8221; or &#8220;ALSOK&#8221; and a security camera. There are things you can do with little or no money, such as putting up stickers that say, &#8220;Camera watching,&#8221; or &#8220;Beware of rabid dogs.&#8221;</p>
<p> If, at the preliminary inspection stage, you can make people think, &#8220;You say you have an asset, but the security seems awfully hard,&#8221; it will be a factor in discouraging them from breaking in. To increase that possibility as much as possible, do what you can, to the extent that money allows. Even if you don&#8217;t spend a lot of money, your ingenuity will be enough to show that you are aware of crime prevention.</p>
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<p> Most burglars break windows to gain entry. Therefore, it is effective to strengthen window glass. Replacing the glass with toughened glass or applying security film is an effective measure; if the glass cannot be broken in one go, it will have to be struck several times, and the sound will echo in the surrounding area. At that stage, the criminal can be noticed. Tempered glass is costly, but tempered film can be purchased inexpensively at home centers.</p>
<p> According to statistics from the National Police Agency, &#8220;If it takes five minutes to break into a house, about 70% of criminals will give up. Although today&#8217;s black market criminals will still try to break in, by buying time to break in, they will have more time to escape or report the crime.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Countermeasures against NG"></div>
<h2>The other party is &#8220;not provoked.&#8221;</h2>
<p> If the perpetrator has broken in, there are also countermeasures that can be taken. There are several stages to a situation where a break-in has begun. For example, if you are at home and notice a situation where the criminal is breaking the window glass, you have the option of running away from the house.</p>
<p> If you have a so-called &#8220;panic room&#8221; inside your house, a place where you can escape if something happens, you will be able to act calmly. Create a room with a sturdy door with at least two locks, and possibly charge your cell phone there as well. It is said that the average time it takes Japanese police to arrive at the scene after receiving a 110 call is about 8 minutes. At all costs, they must endure for eight minutes. In the unlikely event that you are detained by a robber, you have no choice but to be irresistible. I would answer honestly what I am asked, and my priority would be to get them to leave as soon as possible and save my life.</p>
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<p> One security item I recommend is a flashlight with a long handle for self-defense. It can be used as a blinder when you put it in your face and can also be wielded as a weapon against a criminal when the situation calls for it.</p>
<p> I do not recommend anything that attacks the attacker, such as tear gas or a stun gun. Tear sprays, when aimed at an onrushing opponent, may make him cough, but they do not completely stop his movement. It could be taken away by the attacker and used to attack you in the opposite direction.</p>
<p> Items that make loud noises are good. Sound attracts the attention of the surrounding area, which burglars don&#8217;t like. If you attach a vibration-sensing buzzer to a window or door, it will make a loud noise when you try to break in, which can fluster them, and you can also give them time to escape by sensing it early.</p>
<p> How early can you detect an intrusion? How early can you detect an intrusion, and how much time do you have to report the intrusion or escape? This is the most important role of security goods.</p>
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 Nakahira Ryo

 Kyodo News

 Even the Commissioner of the National Police Agency has issued an unprecedented statement on "black job robbery. What should we do to protect ourselves from these criminals who even take our lives? Toshihiko Matsumaru, a former Metropolitan Police Department investigator and crime prevention consultant, tells us.

Never provoke the other party&#8230;! A former Metropolitan Police Department investigator teaches the best crime prevention technique to &#8220;protect your life from a black market robbery.

Never provoke the other party…! A former Metropolitan Police Department investigator teaches the best crime prevention technique to “protect your life from a black market robbery.

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