Police's organized off-the-book money-making -- Akahata editorial, March 9The police that unjustifiably arrests a citizen for distributing handbills has internally made off-the-book money using tax money. They have forged official documents to cook up incidents that did not exist. Even after the revelation of misappropriation of tax money, the police have never been serious about discovering the truth and failed to investigate the allegations fully.
Following testimony by Harada Koji, former director of the Kushiro District Headquarters, regarding the Hokkaido prefectural police's slush fund making, Saito Kunio, former vice superintendent of the Teshikaga police station in the Kushiro district sought an audit by the prefecture's auditors, saying that there had been abuses of the station's remuneration fund.
Instructed from top
A former police inspector of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police testified about the prefectural police's slush fund-making.
At the Shizuoka prefectural police office, its general affairs section in 1995 made 10 million yen through slush funds by illegally claiming travel expenses for official trips that did not take place. The police acknowledged that the money was used for social expenses of the prefectural police head and for internal wining and dining. At first, the prefectural police lied by saying that the police had no off-the-book money problem. After it lost the lawsuit filed by an ombudsman organization demanding that the document be disclosed, the police had to make the issue public.
On the slush fund-making in the Metropolitan Police Department, Ouchi Akira, former chief of the general affairs section of the security bureau, in a serial article published in Akahata described in detail how the illegal money was made.
Mr. Ouchi said, "Off-the-book money-making is conducted nationwide, including at the National Police Agency." A series of testimonies supports this statement.
Mr. Saito pointed out that such money-making was carried over by the chain of persons in charge under the tacit approval of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters, which meant that this was known by the top leadership of the prefectural police. He said that the prefectural police examined forged documents to avoid detection by auditors, and put many tags to mark places to be corrected, and it took great time and trouble to make corrections as instructed.
Harada also testified that the National Police Agency and the Hokkaido Prefectural Police had instructed him to prepare for an auditors' inspection of forged papers. He said, "I used to spend months checking papers, fabricating "cases" under investigation to make out "receipts", and forging memos in order to pass the audit. In preparation for a preliminary audit conducted by NPA and Hokkaido Prefectural Police accountants, we repeatedly had rehearsals in order to comprehend the procedure of approval.
The fact that the NPA carried out preliminary inspections in order to cook the books indicates that the NPA has been engaged in maintaining off-the-book money and illegally destroying evidence.
The Shizuoka Prefectural Police finally admitted that there had been fraud in fiscal 1995, but it still insists that under a new system that began in 1997, travel expenses have been directly reimbursed to individual accounts, leaving no room for such a fraudulent system to be maintained.
However, Ouchi has testified that in 1997, when a new accounting system was introduced, he was ordered to ensure that off-the-book money would not be questioned and to continue to pay money to the NPA.
Under the pretense that a new system will block such fraud, "there is a system for making off-the-book money throughout the national police system, including the NPA," Ouchi said.
Increase public watch
It is very serious that the National Police Agency has led the reorganization of the secret money making system to embezzle tax money. Not only the Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly, but also the national Diet must make a thorough investigation into the case, including the summoning of witnesses concerned, in order to force the NPA to fulfill its responsibility in the matter.
Steps must be taken to increase the public watch on the unfair police system, including the introduction of an audit system composed of persons from a third party. (end)