生きていく上で、知っておきたい。 実は身近にある、刑事訴訟法という法律。
Q:まず、先生のご専門の研究分野と担当科目についておたずねします。
専門分野は、刑事訴訟法です。担当の科目は、刑事訴訟法、刑事政策、警察・消防特別研究です。刑事訴訟法は、一般の方々にとってはあまり身近に感じることのできない法律ですね。犯罪が起こって、捜査がはじまります。そして犯人が逮捕・勾留され、裁判が行われ判決後に刑が執行されます。この一連の刑事手続について定めた法律です。刑事訴訟法は、近年、被害者保護の観点から、時代の変化に応じた、たとえば裁判員裁判などに対応するための改正も行われています。
身近に感じられないと言っても、ご自身だけでなく身の回りで事件・事故が起らないとも限りません。だから、まったく関わりのない法律ではないのです。また、警察官や消防官、そして公務員をめざす学生たちはもちろん、一般企業に勤めたとしてもこの法律知識は、一つの教養として必ず役に立ちます。
Q:「刑事が犯人を追いつめる！」テレビドラマの世界だけではないのですね。
そうそう、皆さんがふだんからよく見ている「相棒」などの刑事ドラマを例にすればわかりやすいかもしれませんね。ドラマの中では「ホシ」や「ガサ入れ」「逮捕令状」などという言葉がでてきます。それもすべて、刑事訴訟法という法律にのっとった手続に関連してくるのです。
だから、実生活に関わりがないと言っても、こうした知識を少し得るだけでドラマや推理小説、探偵小説を、これまで以上に面白く見たり読んだりすることができると思います。 犯罪者が逮捕されて、その後はどうなるのか。刑や罰は、どのように決められるのか。また、観点を変えますと犯罪の加害者だけでなく、被害者の方々の気持ちにまで関心をもつようになるでしょう。極端に言えば、自分が裁判員や警察官になったつもりで、学んで欲しいと思っています。
Q:犯罪被害者の権利を守る活動にも尽力されていますね。
亀岡集団登校交通事件から丸１０年を迎える２０２２年４月２３日、京都太秦キャンパスで「生命のメッセージ展」とシンポジウム「絶望とともに歩んだ先に」を学生と共に開催します。
警察官・消防官は、身近な人を亡くした方にはじめに接することが多い仕事です。学生には、そうした方々の生の声を聞き、心情にふれることで、犯罪被害者の方のことを深く考えられるようになって欲しいですね。また今後、誰も加害者にも被害者にもならないためにどうしたらよいかを、現実をつぶさに知ることで、生命の尊さを感じてほしいと思っています。
Q:先生の長所は？ また、オフタイムはどのように過ごしていますか。
「元気ハツラツ！」これが長所と言えば長所かもしれません。自分で言うより、学生たちに聞いてください。学生時代は、バレーボールを6年間、バスケットボールを4年間やっていました。声も大きいです。それで今、オフは、アウトドア派かというとそうでもなくて、案外学生たちと同じような時間の過ごし方をしているかもしれません。マンガを読んだり、アニメを見たり、ごく普通ですね。これからも、人一倍元気に。日々積極的に学生たちに接して、なんでも気軽に相談できる「面倒見のいい姉」のような存在でありたいですね。
Associate Professor ABE Chizuko
In this edition of “Tell Us teacher” we spoke to Associate Prof. Abe about criminal procedure law. She previously aspired to be a police officer and is known for her sunny disposition.
Essential laws that you will want to know about Criminal procedure law is more relevant to us than you’d think
Q:First of all, could you tell us about your field of study and the subjects you teach?
I specialize in criminal procedure law. The courses I teach are Law of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Policy, and a special course to prepare students for the exams required to become a police officer or firefighter. The general public is not very familiar with criminal procedure law. When a crime is committed, an investigation is opened. Then, the culprit is arrested, detained, and a trial is held. After the trial and sentencing, the sentence is carried out. Criminal procedure law is what governs this series of criminal proceedings. In recent years, from the standpoint of victim protection, criminal procedure laws have been revised to respond to changes in the times, such as through the introduction of jury trials.
Even if you feel that these laws have nothing to do with you, there is no guarantee that an incident or accident will not happen to you or someone close to you in the future. So it’s important to realize these laws aren’t completely irrelevant. Knowledge of these laws is useful, even for students interested in working for private companies, not only for students who want to become police officers, firefighters, or civil servants.
Q:So you’re telling me that detectives chasing after criminals is not just something in the world of TV dramas?
Exactly. It might be easier to understand if I use a popular detective TV series such as “AIBOU” as an example. In that show, you will hear words like “perp,” “premises search,” and “arrest warrant”. These all relate to legal procedures under criminal procedure law.
So, even if it doesn’t seem directly relevant to your real life, just a little bit of this knowledge will make watching TV shows and reading detective novels and mysteries more interesting than ever before. Have you ever thought about what happens after a criminal is arrested? How are sentences and penalties determined? If you shift your perspective, you will also start to take an interest in not only the perpetrators of the crime, but also in the feelings of the victims. It might seem like an exaggeration but I would like you to learn about these things as if you were a police officer or a judge.
Q:I’ve heard that you are also involved in activities to protect the rights of victims of crimes, what could you tell us about that?
On April 23, 2022, 10 years after after a fatal traffic accident caused by dangerous driving that injured a school group in Kameoka, a symposium entitled “What Lays Beyond Grief” and a “Messages of Life” exhibition will be held with the help of KUAS students at Kyoto Uzumasa Campus.
Police officers and firefighters are often the first to come into contact with people who have lost someone close to them. I hope that by listening first hand to their voices and feelings, students will be able to develop a deeper understanding of victims of crime. I want students to think in detail about what should be done so that there will be no more perpetrators or victims in the future and in doing so, realize the inherent preciousness of life.
Q:What are your strengths as a teacher and how do you like to spend your time off?
I’m very energetic, which I suppose you could call one of my strengths. If you want to know my strengths as a teacher though, you should ask my students rather than me.
When I was a student, I played volleyball for 6 years and basketball for 4 years. I have a loud voice as well. Now, you might be surprised to hear that I spend my time doing the same kind of thing that a student would do when I am not working. I’m not really an outdoorsy person, so I spend my time doing ordinary things like reading manga or watching anime.
I intend to keep being as enthusiastic as I possibly can. I will continue to actively interact with students every day and I would like to be seen as a kind of “caring older sister” who students feel comfortable talking to about anything.
