NCJ Number
133557
Date Published
1990
Length
19 pages
Annotation
China's policing system is presented as an example of a Third World communist system. The police system in China is characterized by constant change; its development has been influenced by Confucian ethics, Japanese invaders, and the Communist regime.
Abstract
Mao shaped cities according to the positive features of rural community life with a complex network linking neighborhoods to a central State. Under communism, crime was not eliminated, but rather provided opportunities for the development of new versions of old crimes of bribery and corruption and new deviant behaviors in categories of inappropriate thoughts, inappropriate fertility patterns, or prerevolutionary values. However, the organization of urban population into smaller groups prevented privacy and criminal acts and left the police more vulnerable to criticism. During the times that the balance between community influence and police power shifted, the influence of the party on both was evident. Recent changes brought more benefits for the elite than for the general population, and population protests were squashed. Future focus of policing will be on maintaining public order and towards the development of a more professional, trained, and centralized system.