The Los Angeles Police Department unveiled its first fully staffed koban, a type of community outreach station commonly used in Japan, at The Grove on Monday.
The koban functions as a smaller police substation, where people can file reports, alert officers to an emergency and engage with officers.
"Make no mistake about it: even though they may have stickers and little giveaways in there, these (officers) are fully trained in every aspect of policing and rapid response," Deputy Chief Beatrice Girmala said at the Monday event.
The idea came from an LAPD sergeant who grew up in Japan, Girmala said at the conference. The department will pull from its reserve forces to staff the koban, which will be occupied by a minimum of two officers.
The koban was created in partnership with Caruso Affiliated, the private real estate company that owns the Grove shopping area. Girmala cited the high density of the location as making it a particularly important place for police.
Los Angeles already has a koban in Little Tokyo, which acts as an information center but does not function fully as a police substation as the Grove one will. Kobans have also been implemented in Brazil.
The Grove koban will be open daily from noon to 10 p.m., LAPD Officer Javier Segovia said.
