Current Events > 4 Cops stake out all night to catch thief.... Who stole $6.37....

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In Japan, busy cities and quiet residential neighborhoods are dotted with small local shrines that never close their gates, and while people usually limit their shrine visits to the daytime hours, there are some individuals who walk through the grounds well after dark, and not always for innocent reasons.

Thats what occurred in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture last month, when a man was seen entering the grounds of a local shrine at around 10:30 p.m. on Oct 16. He headed over to a collection box containing coins, tipped the contents out onto his palm, and strode off like a rich man.

However, he wasnt rich, and he didnt get very far, because he was immediately pounced upon by four police officers, whod been waiting for him in the dark, blending into the scenery as if they were about to bust up a gold heist.

he clip plays out like a scene from a movie or rather, a comedy as one officer is so keen to catch the culprit he slips on the ground and falls over in front of the thief, who simply stands there looking stunned.
As the officers shout Keisatsu! Keisatsu! (Police! Police!), another figure runs in from out of frame, dressed in camo gear and a full-on Ghillie suit covered in fake leaves, suggesting hed been standing motionless among the trees.

According to reports, the officers involved in the sting operation had to hide for more than four hours, as it was necessary for them to witness the crime in order to make an arrest. With one of the four officers concealed in camo gear like an army sniper, the other three, in plain-clothes, had no choice but to huddle together under a large covering until the criminal appeared.

The officers certainly came prepared for the stakeout, fulfilling their duty to uphold the law and protect the countrys law-abiding citizens, and shrines, from thieves. So how much was saved, thanks to this elaborate police operation?

665 yen.

After being apprehended, the unemployed 30-year-old thief was re-arrested by Saitama police on Nov 9 on suspicion ofother incidents of theft. Given the police were waiting for him at the shrine, its likely the thief had previously raided the collection box, or other similar offertory boxes in the area.

Speaking to reporters, the Shinto priest at the shrine said nobody expects people to steal from an offertory box. Sadly, though, it does happen back in 2018 a man was arrested for taking 30 yen from one such box at a shrine in Chiba Prefecture.

The priest expressed his extreme admiration for the efforts of the police officers over the theft of a few hundred yen. It just goes to show it doesnt matter how much you steal, stealing is stealing in the eyes of the law, and the police will go to all sorts of lengths to find you

Full Article: https://japantoday.com/category/crime/japanese-police-hide-at-shrine-to-catch-a-thief%E2%80%A6who-stole-%C2%A5665

https://youtu.be/UbAFWnbN3lY

That feeling when your overpaid police force has nothing else to do with their time....

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oh god, watch the video. one of these heroic braying dipshits takes a nice spill (0:04) trying to be first in for this glorious ambush

This reminds me of my trip to Japan in 2004 in my early 20s. I stayed with a host family and one day I was coming back to their house and I discovered a neighborhood shrine so I stopped in. Nobody was there and it was really peaceful. I feel like I remeber the money being secure and you woukd need the priests key to get at it I thought. Maybe each shrine is different. Or I am remembering wrong

Well, seems like not too much. But I'd imagine it's probably the principal of stealing from what involves religion.

And, maybe their stance on crime is why they have a lot less of it in general than the U.S.

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Japan goes way too hard

Houston posted...

And, maybe their stance on crime is why they have a lot less of it in general than the U.S.

hmmmmmmmmmmm

It's true that Japan has less crime than the US but don't be fooled by their crime stats, they're fake.

There is both a huge shame culture in Japan that stops people from coming forward and cops flat out try to keep their numbers down because it makes their department look good.

Every now and then a new Police Chief steps up and goes "We're cleaning this up! No more lying about crime figures!" then inevitably a year or 2 later it's exposed that they are lying about crime figures.

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