Volunteers keeping the greater Little Tokyo community in Los Angeles, California a safe place in which to work, shop, and live
The Little Tokyo Koban is to assist the community in security, public safety issues, LAPD relations, and emergency preparedness issues in the Little Tokyo community and the greater Southern California Japanese and Japanese American communities.
The Little Tokyo Public Safety Association (LTPSA) was founded in 1982 as a response to the crimes that were affecting businesses in the Little Tokyo area. In the early 1990s, local businessmen began patrolling the area to address car burglaries and aggressive panhandling that intimidated customers, tourists, and residents. What started as a patrol of three men, peaked to over fifty volunteers working in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), from First to Fifth Street. Wearing bright green uniformed shirts, they served as the eyes and ears of law enforcement. The Men and Women in Green have become easily recognizable over the years, especially at special events.
In 1996, the LTPSA opened the Koban, located at 307 E. First Street in the heart of historic Little Tokyo. The Koban is an information center and an LAPD Drop-in Center for officers to interview victims, prepare reports, and serve as the headquarters for the volunteer patrol members. This facility is manned with bilingual Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) volunteers who provide tourist and safety information to visitors and serves as an important link to Little Tokyo throughout Southern California. Because of our long history with public safety concerns, the LTPSA has become the “go to” group for inquiries from the media and law enforcement on Little Tokyo area incidents.
Over the years, the LTPSA has expanded its programs to include safety and first-aid seminars, school and senior’s programs, and we are very proud of our certification as a Red Cross Training Facility. We sponsor cleanup programs with community organizations every year. Visitors can find a safe and clean restroom at the Koban, and community organizations are welcome to use the meeting room. The LTPSA conducts these services and programs and keep the Koban open thanks in part to voluntary membership dues and donations. Visitors and volunteers are always welcome to the Koban. For more information, contact the Koban at 1-213-613-1911.
A kōban (交番) is a small neighborhood police station found in Japan. The term is also used to refer to the smallest organizational unit in a modern Japanese Prefectural police department. Small kōban buildings, staffed by uniformed officers at around 6,000 locations all over the country, are the bases for community policing activities which complement the work of larger, central police stations. The officers assigned to kōban belong to Community police affairs sections (地域課, chīki-ka) of police stations (警察署, Keisatsu-sho). They are able to keep a general watch, respond to emergencies, give directions, and otherwise interact with citizens on a more intimate basis than would be the case if they were operating from a more distant station. Although often translated into English as "police box", kōban bear little resemblance to the police boxes formerly found in the UK or the police call boxes formerly found in the US. Nowadays Japan's koban are often known for their quirky styles of architecture: there are koban with owls on their roof, the roof as a spire and koban painted in Mediterranean colors. Koban usually have a red light or a pair of red lights above the doors and the five pointed gold police star or badge. The five pointed star is also seen on cap and shoulder badges on Japanese police uniforms. Source: Wikipedia
Keeping Little Tokyo safe and informed by working together. All Little Tokyo Public Safety Association (LTPSA) Koban services and information are free to the public. For more information, contact the Koban at 1-213-613-1911.
If you need any further details, please feel free to contact 1-213-613-1911 or email us at info@littletokyokoban.org.
The following links are external third party links that leave this site and are provided here for your convenience only. These links will take you to a third party website, owned and operated by an independent party over which LTPSA has no control ("3rd Party Website"). Any link you make to or from the 3rd Party Website will be at your own risk. Any use of the 3rd Party Website will be subject to and any information you provide will be governed by the terms of the 3rd Party Website, including those relating to confidentiality, data privacy and security.
The Little Tokyo Public Safety Association (LTPSA) was founded in 1982 in response to crimes that were affecting businesses in the Little Tokyo area. Dressed in green polo shirts, the men and women volunteers of the LTPSA became a common sight throughout Little Tokyo since 1993 and are still visible during Nisei Week, church obon festivals and the annual Tanabata Festival.
For more information on volunteer opportunities, contact the Koban at 1-213-613-1911 or volunteer@littletokyokoban.org.
The Little Tokyo Koban is a non-profit 501(c)3 entity under the Little Tokyo Public Safety Association. We accept all donations. All proceeds are dedicated toward Koban maintenance and its projects. Please contact us at 1-213-613-1911 or email us at info@littletokyokoban.org
The Little Tokyo Public Safety Association (LTPSA) Koban is located in the heart of Little Tokyo at the corner of Judge John Aiso Street and East First Street.
Our Address:
307 East First Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Center Operating Hours*:
Monday: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Tuesday: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Wednesday: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Thursday: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Friday: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Sunday: CLOSED
Currently we are open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will take phone calls and provide service at the front door only. For the protection of the volunteers, the bathrooms are temporarily closed to the public.
This page will feature upcoming community events, seminars, first-aid training, etc. There are no events planned at this time. Please check back later or contact us at 1-213-613-1911 or email us at info@littletokyokoban.org.
(213) 613-1911
FAX: 213-613-0282
info@littletokyokoban.org