Citing concerns of increasing crimes targeting school children, the National Police Agency in Japan has begun to deploy a nationwide network of surveillance cameras along roads frequently used by children walking to and from school.
According to Japan Times, the NPA will install the surveillance cameras in order to promptly investigate incidents in which crimes targeting children near schools occur. There were reportedly a total of 644 such cases of children under the age of 13 in 2017.
The agency says it will begin sharing the information collected from these investigations with schools to further strengthen measures to protect children.