The number of police department officers and personnel who were disciplined in 2019 was 243, a drop of 14 from 2018, the National Police Agency said in a report.

According to statistics dating back to 2000, this is the second lowest number of disciplinary actions against officers, with the number declining for the seventh straight year, the report said. Additionally, the number of police officers arrested was 50, down by 23 in 2018.

The most common reason for disciplinary action was sexual harassment — in 80 cases, a decrease of 14 from 2018. Next, there were 66 officers who were disciplined for theft, fraud and embezzlement, an increase of 11 from the previous year.

Forty people were reprimanded for traffic accidents and violence (an increase of four cases) and 14 for counterfeiting and destruction of official documents to suppress evidence (up by two).

On the other hand, there were no reported power harassment cases (a decrease from seven in 2018).

Among the disciplinary steps against the officers, the most severe cases involved 29 dismissals, 59 suspensions, 122 salary reductions and 33 formal warnings.

Among the 243 officers facing charges of disorderly conduct, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had the highest number of cases at 34, with Kanagawa Prefectural Police at 19, Aichi Prefectural Police with 14, and the fourth-highest at 12 from the Kyoto Prefectural Police.

© Japan Today