Kyoto: Police Try to Dissuade Shoplifters with Photos of Officers’ Eyes

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:26 JST, December 20, 2025

KYOTO — The Fushimi Police Station in Kyoto Prefecture has launched a unique initiative to prevent shoplifting by displaying photo stickers of police officers’ eyes in stores.

The “gaze of others” can be effective in deterring kleptomaniacs, who derive pleasure from the act of stealing and cannot control their impulse to take things.

It is believed that when such people are thinking of shoplifting, the mere act of others catching their eye or a store clerk greeting them can dissuade a potential shoplifter.

Recently, the police took photos of more than 40 officers’ eyes with their consent. They then asked the public at a local crime prevention event to choose ones that they thought “looked effective for crime prevention.”

About 400 votes were cast for eyes that looked, for instance, caring enough to dissuade people from stealing or stern enough to caution against committing a crime.

The photos of one male officer and one female officer that received the most votes will be made into stickers. They will distribute the stickers at supermarkets and drugstores within the police station’s jurisdiction by the end of December.

“We can expect some crime prevention benefits by just placing the sticker inside stores,” a police official said. “Since putting up the stickers does not impose a significant burden on businesses, we hope it will spread widely.”