NCJ Number
195221
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 42 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2002 Pages: 281-316
Date Published
2002
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This article examines recent public security reforms in China, with a focus on the “radical reform” period of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
Abstract
This article is part of a larger research project called Police Reform in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), sponsored by the Chinese Law Programme at Chinese University in Hong Kong. The goal of the project is to provide a base of English language literature on the PRC’s policing strategies for criminal justice students. This article focuses on the ways in which the public security institution in China has changed, especially during the “radical reform” period of the late 1980’s through the early 1990’s. The author organizes the article into six sections. The first section offers a description of the PRC police, known as the gongan. The second section explains the trials of researching the policing practices of the PRC. The author discusses how data is often sanitized for public consumption and that field survey research is actually officially prohibited. Section three broadly identifies the ways in which the PRC police have reformed their entire public security apparatus, from its mission to its values, structure, and status. Section four explains why the reform movement was necessary while section five details where the reform movement is headed next. Finally, the sixth section reflects on the challenges and successes of the PRC police reform movement. The author notes that thus far the reform efforts have been reactive in character while future reforms should be fueled by social, economic, and political needs. Tables, references