On May 5, the 29 winter term global study debriefing session was held online by the Center for Global Education.This time, I was not able to go abroad due to the covid-2020 infection, but I was able to carry out various exchanges using the Internet with Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, Bhutan, Brazil, and Vietnam. .
The following is a summary of research by students of the Department of Human Psychology regarding the changes in the crime landscape in Seattle and our country in 2020.
XNUMX. Where the problem lies
Since March 2020, the covid-3 pandemic has erupted around the world, and countries have taken strong measures, including lockdowns.However, in both the United States and Japan, a large number of infected people emerged, economic activity fell into the worst state, and the environment surrounding people changed dramatically.We conducted a survey to compare the impact of the spread of COVID-19 on the crime landscape in 2020 between Japan and the United States.
XNUMX. Method
A: Research in Seattle
・Investigate changes in the number of crimes recognized over the past five years on the Seattle Police Department website
・E-mail questions to the University of Washington Police Department, Washington State Child Guidance Center, and the Seattle Consulate General.
・In addition, search for crime articles on the websites of local news organizations.
B: Domestic survey
・Visit Hyogo Prefectural Police's Life Safety Planning Division, receive a lecture on the recent crime situation, and answer questions
・Inquired the number of incidents by e-mail to Aichi Prefectural Police and Shizuoka Prefectural Police
・Investigate the number of recognized criminal offenses in 2020 using the websites of the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice and e-stat
3. SEATTLE STUDY RESULTS
XNUMX) Murder, arson, theft, extortion and fraud increased in Seattle, while rape and drugs decreased.
(XNUMX) According to the Seattle Consulate, security has deteriorated, but it cannot be said that it is only the influence of corona.Due to the increase in telecommuting, there has been an increase in vandalism (theft) of vacant company offices, as well as an increase in corona benefit fraud and coronavirus-related extortion (extortion).
(XNUMX) It was predicted that DV would increase because of increased opportunities to stay at home.
④According to the Seattle Times, newspaper reports that one of the causes of the significant increase in murders and gun injuries is the stress explosion caused by the corona infection.
⑤In addition to the above
(1) Hate crimes against Asians surged following the president's remark that the source of the virus was Wuhan.
(2) Triggered by an incident in which a black man was killed by a police officer in Minnesota, a movement against discrimination against black people occurred in Seattle at first.The Seattle Police Department set out to suppress the riots, but the mayor obstructed the police movement, and the city council voted to reduce the police budget and personnel.The police chief resigned, 200 police officers retired, and the police organization was greatly weakened.
4. Comparison of Crime Scenes in Seattle and Japan
Murders, arson, and robberies increased in Seattle in 2020, but crime in general has decreased in Japan, and violent crimes have not increased.Child abuse, marijuana cases, and cybercrime have increased in Japan, but these have been increasing continuously in recent years, and it is difficult to believe that the corona disaster caused a rapid increase.There were many reports of fraudulent receipt of corona-related lump-sum payments and corona-related fraud cases, but according to the National Police Agency's statistical data, these fraud cases have not increased from the previous year.Other than that, there was only an act of attacking a pachinko parlor that did not respond to a request for closure on the Internet (self-restraint police).
Seattle is home to major companies such as Microsoft and Amazon, and it is possible that the COVID-2005 pandemic has led to a sharp drop in the income of citizens, and that public order has deteriorated due to stress and dissatisfaction. is.Also, in the case of the United States, when a hurricane submerged 80% of New Orleans in XNUMX, part of it turned into a mob and looting occurred frequently. There have been violent riots and looting incidents.
On the other hand, no clear evidence was obtained to show an increase in crime due to the spread of covid-19 infection in Japan.Furthermore, in Japan, after the Great Hanshin-Awaji and Tohoku earthquakes, the people united and provided mutual assistance, and it is clear that the various phenomena accompanying the disasters did not lead to an increase in crime.
(Professor, Faculty of Psychology: Makoto Nakayama)
