Routledge Police Reform in China (Advances in Police Theory and Practice)

With nearly 20 percent of the world’s population located in China, what happens there is significant to all nations. Sweeping changes have altered the cultural landscape of China, and as opportunities for wealth have grown in recent years, so have opportunities for crime. Police Reform in China provides a rare and insightful glimpse of policing in the midst of such change. The book begins with a historical account of police reform in the region since 2000. Next, it discusses the difficulties encountered in trying to understand Chinese policing, such as outdated perceptions, misinformation, cultural ignorance, ideological hegemony, and problems with paternalistic attitudes. The book recommends studying China from a local perspective informed by local research and data, suggesting that understanding China requires a cultural shift to the Chinese way of life in "thinking" and, more importantly, "feeling." The author then summarizes selected policy papers from Gongan Yanjiu, a leading international policy journal. He first documents how the thinking and aspirations of various generations of Chinese leaders from Mao to Deng, and now Jiang and Hu, came to affect Chinese policing in theory and practice. He then addresses the emergence of a police legitimacy crisis as evidenced by the deterioration of public image and rebellions against police authority. Demonstrating how old ideologies are increasingly in conflict with the values and lifestyles of a new mentality, the book discusses steps that can be taken to improve professionalism. The final chapters investigate such problems as abuses of discretion and the improper use of firearms and highlight the importance of understanding the Chinese people, culture, values, and interests in order to truly effectuate successful police reform. Review Advance Reviews:This monograph investigates police reform in the PRC. It is one of the first of its kind to comprehensively discuss how the Chinese Police re-invented itself to be a professional force while facing challenges as well as opportunities accompanied by the great social and economic reform in China since 2000. The author collected an abundance of up-to-date information― valuable empirical data from various local sources, including newspaper articles, governmental reports, official surveys, and academic self-report studies to support his insightful arguments on police reform in China. This data is very useful in providing a reasonable evaluation of police reform in the Chinese context and building a reliable groundwork for future research in the field. It is a book that anyone studying police in China must read.―Professor Jianhong Liu; Professor of Criminology of University of Macau (China);Chair Professor and Dean, School of Law at Southwest University of Political Science and Law (China); and President, Asian Criminological Society This book provides a rare and insightful glimpse of policing in China in the midst of such change. … Among the book’s most significant contributions are the data sources that it makes accessible to a Western readership. These include publications in professional policing journals, longitudinal data from successive crime victim surveys and surveys of police personnel, and excerpts from conversations in online chat-rooms. The book is richly documented, a resource in its own right. … KC Wong’s intriguing book provides us with a valuable vantage point from which to view the unfolding of this drama.―Distinguished Professor Peter Grabosky, Australian National University and Vice President, Asian Criminological SocietyWith rare understanding of Chinese materials, K.C. Wong painstakingly describes efforts to reform the Chinese police during the past decade, courageously exploring sensitive issues of policy and performance. Written in an engagingly personal manner, it is a fundamental book for anyone interested in how modern China manages law enforcement and public order.―David H. Bayley, Dis