The koban is not the first creative idea to come from Mr Austin, who is studying to become a clergyman.

ECONOMIST: Community policing

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.

ECONOMIST: Community policing

Opened earlier this summer, and modelled on Japan's little local police stations, Columbia's koban is an attempt to prevent crime by tackling some of the things that cause it: broken families, children who stop going to school, the failure of communities to help people at the end of their tether.

ECONOMIST: Community policing