Walking in Waterloo Region

[tomh009]

Koban! These are everywhere in Japan. And, yes, that's a police bicycle parked in front. Note the holder at the front for the keijou (stick).

Exactly what I had in mind. I don't know what other countries do this, and how the implementation differs, but I've mostly heard about them in the Japanese context. And after visiting Japan I was surprised at how natural and in-place they felt. You certainly see a lot more cops on bikes there too.

And the Japanese police often stand outside, just watching, and even saying hello to strange foreigners walking by.

I'm curious, are you living in a house, apartment building or a smaller multiplex building?

I'd rather not be overly specific, but it's a mixed use, King St fronting building. Historically I think the whole building was businesses; my apartment still has a little hidden branding from an old business.

Understood! But, yes, if you are directly on King St, then you will surely encounter an order of magnitude more "incidents" than people living three or four blocks away in Cedar Hill or Irvin St, for example. Maybe you have been unlucky, but the location will have had a big impact, too.