The balls, locally known as bohan yu kara boru, derive their bright hue from the orange paint that fills them. In the event of a theft or robbery, store employees are supposed to fling the balls at the perpetrator. When the balls hit the thief, they will burst, marking him with orange paint and making it easy for the police to identify and apprehend him.

As hilarious as they are, the anti-crime balls remain largely unused. In fact, research conducted by Japan’s National Police Agency indicate that they have been used in only three percent of robberies so far. That’s understandable – when faced with a life-threatening situation, throwing a paintball at an armed criminal is probably the last thing you’d want to do. If you miss, it might just be the last day of your life.

Interestingly, staff members in shops are given training on how to throw the balls effectively. They’re asked to aim at the floor near the culprit’s feet, because the resulting splash will ensure that some paint will stick to him anyway. If that doesn’t work, employees are asked to throw the anti-crime balls at the getaway car – another indicator that the police can look for. In spite of this training, the balls haven’t been used much

So keep them at all? Well, the anti-crime balls seem to be doing their job just by being present, because they act as a deterrent to crime. It seems that criminals choose not to rob stores where the balls are present, just to avoid the possibility of getting marked and caught later.

-Oddity Central