Fighting crime, Japanese-style

IN A rough inner-city neighbourhood plagued with prostitution, drug-dealing and other messy things, a grey two-storey house with new red-brick stairs stands out like a beacon. This “rehabbed” building on Lady Street, always graceful in its lines and now tastefully renovated, makes a sharp contrast with the crumbling motel across the street. It is also notable for its inhabitants: two policemen who use identical one-bedroom flats in mainland America's first live-in koban, the Japanese for mini-station.