Missing the Target? Policing Strategies in the Period of Economic Reform

Abstract

During the 1980s, the People's Republic of China experienced a significant rise in crime as well as an accompanying increase in the fear of crime in the general population. This article documents how the Chinese government leadership initially responded to this situation through mass campaigns. The adoption of this campaign style of policing foreshadowed a more fundamental change in the nature of policing in China. The authors show how specialized policing with selective targeting replaced the all round policing of the past. The article documents the emergence of specialized forms of policing for special professions, special populations, and key areas. The authors posit that this form of policing grew out of the demands for security in the economic reform period, but ultimately threatens the reform program by instituting extralegal forms of control.