Public security bureau (China)
Public security bureau (PSB; Chinese: 公安局; pinyin: gōng'ānjú) of a city or county, or public security department (PSD; Chinese: 公安厅; pinyin: Gōng'āntīng) in a province or autonomous region of the People's Republic of China is a generic term for a police department.
Duties
[edit]The official duties of Public Security Bureaus are:[1]
- Preventing, stopping and investigating criminal activities
- Preventing and responding to terrorism
- Protecting public order and safety
- Managing Traffic, firefighting and dangerous goods
- Managing hukou and immigration[2][3]
- Border protection
- Protection of VIPs and important locations
- Managing protests
- Prevention of cybercrime
Organization
[edit]PSB/PSD agencies act as the main civilian police agency of the city/province they are in.[1] Under Public Security Bureaus are police stations (Chinese: 派出所; pinyin: pàichūsuǒ).[4]
The system of public security bureaus is administered by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), which co-ordinates the work of provincial public security departments that are also answerable to the local governments and provincial party secretaries.[5]
Each Province/Autonomous region has a Public Security Department, while each municipality(Including directly administered municipalities like Beijing or Tianjin) has a Public Security Bureau. Counties and county level cities also have smaller PSBs.[1][4]
The PSB system does not apply to the special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong, as they have their own police forces, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Public Security Police Force of Macau, respectively.
Internal organization
[edit]Units of a PSB vary from agency to agency, though most bureaus have a traffic police unit, a SWAT unit, a crime investigation unit, a legal affairs unit, a food safety and environmental crime unit, a detention center/jail and a public order unit, though functions of each unit also vary, For example, in the Daishan County PSB, the Public Order unit is also in charge of food safety,[6] while in the Shenzhen Municipal PSB there is a separate unit for Food Safety and environmental crime.[7]
Some PSB's also operate overseas service stations.[8]
Specialized Public Security Bureaus
[edit]Railway Public Security Bureaus
[edit]
The Ministry of Public Security Railway Public Security Bureau (10th Bureau)[9] operates a Railway Public Security Bureau (铁路公安局) in all 18 Passenger groups of the China Railway (For example, the Harbin Railway PSB has jurisdiction over the China Railway Harbin Group)[10]. Under Railway Public Security Bureaus are Railway Public Security Offices (铁路公安处), which are in every Hub station.[11] Train stations have their own police stations, which also includes the Hong Kong West Kowloon station.[12]
The main crimes handled by Railway Public Security Bureaus are seat hogging, sexual harassment and petty theft,[13] though they are responsible for handling all crime occurring on railroads in their jurisdiction.[14]
Railway Public Security Offices often operate railway SWAT teams.[15][16]
Forest Public Security Bureaus
[edit]Provincial Public Security Departments also operate Forest Public Security Bureaus, who are in charge of law enforcement in forests of their respective provinces; Many municipal PSBs also operate their own municipal Forestry PSBs. The main crimes handled include illegal logging, illegal fishing, poaching of endangered species and environmental crime. In 2020, they were handed over from the command of the local forestry bureau to the provincial PSD/PSB. They are also in charge of Search and Rescue, environmental protection and wildfire suppression in their jurisdiction.[17][18]
Relations with other agencies
[edit]Ministry of State Security
[edit]The network of public security bureaus and the Ministry of Public Security should not be confused with the separate but parallel networks of state security bureaus/state security departments, administered at the national level by the Ministry of State Security (MSS).[19]
The MSS is responsible for external and internal intelligence, and performing a "secret police" or security police role responsible for preemptive response to 'mass incidents' (Chinese terminology for protests or social disturbances) and internal security.[19]
The two systems are administratively separate, although at local levels they co-operate to a large extent and often share resources and internal security bureaus are structured as units or departments within public security bureaus (PSBs) to allow for closer and more effective integrated operations and cooperation as needed.[19]
Chengguan
[edit]Many local Public Security Bureaus often clash with Chengguan agents often clash when PSB Police officers respond to reports of Chengguan brutality, resulting to many cases of PSB Police being assaulted along with police equipment, such as bodycams and even firearms being stolen.[20][21][22]
People's Armed Police
[edit]Public Security Bureaus often participate in Joint patrols with local People's Armed Police units.[23] Additionally, one of the major roles of the People's Armed police is to provide assistance to the local PSB during mass incidents such as riots, gang related activities and terrorism.[24]: 123–125
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "公安机关". State Council of the People's Republic of China.
- ^ Fan, C. Cindy (4 December 2007). China on the Move: Migration, the State, and the Household. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-08865-2.
- ^ Nyíri, Pál (1 June 2011). Mobility and Cultural Authority in Contemporary China. University of Washington Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-295-80034-9.
- ^ a b "公安机关简介、特征、性质、机构设置". Fangcheng County government. 29 August 2023.
- ^ Sullivan, Larry E. (2005). Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement. SAGE. p. 1005. ISBN 978-0-7619-2649-8.
- ^ 县公安局 [County Public Security Bureau], Daishan County government; retrieved 15 March 2025
- ^ "内设机构". Shenzhen Municipal PSB.
- ^ "在海外也能打110？福州公安回答你：能！". Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (in Chinese). 14 January 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022.
- ^ "铁路公安局（公安部十局）警卫处：铁路警卫事业的忠诚守护者". People's Daily. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "黑龙江省铁路安全管理规定". Heilongjiang Provincial Government. 6 April 2021.
- ^ "重磅，公安体制重大变革（2019年10月15日）". 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020.
- ^ "广州铁路公安局深圳公安处西九龙站派出所: 跨境铁路的平安守护者". Chinese Police. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "哈尔滨铁路公安局开展专项行动！网友：超安心！". The Paper. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "铁路公安机关全方位多举措确保高铁安全". State Council of the People's Republic of China. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "寒冬淬炼中度过警察节 北京铁路公安特警锻造"特战利刃"". China Youth Daily. 11 January 2025.
- ^ "特战"黑科技"齐亮相 铁路特警综合演练保平安". People's Daily. 5 January 2023.
- ^ "广东省公安厅森林公安局正式挂牌". Guangdong Provincial Forestry Administration. 4 January 2021.
- ^ "人民巷會客廳丨寧夏森林公安：深耕生態警務 守護綠水青山". People's Daily. 26 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Joske, Alex (2023). "State security departments: The birth of China's nationwide state security system" (PDF). Deserepi: Studies in Chinese Communist Party External Work.
- ^ 河南遂平城管围攻警察 称警察干预城管执法 [Chengguan agents in Suiping, Henan province attacked police officers, claiming the police interfered with chengguan's law enforcement activity]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011.
- ^ "城管﹑拆遷人員暴打執法民警". Radio Free Asia. 26 July 2013.
- ^ "商丘一拆迁现场城管和警察冲突多人受伤，当地成立工作组调查". The Paper.
- ^ She, Haofang, ed. (15 April 2020). "景泰：公安、武警联合武装巡逻强化社会面管控" [Jingtai PSB and Armed Police Battalion conduct armed patrol]. Baiyin Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Jingtai County Public Security Bureau. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ Sun, Ivan Y.; Wu, Yuning (December 2009). "The Role of the People's Armed Police in Chinese Policing". Asian Journal of Criminology. 4 (2): 107–128. doi:10.1007/s11417-008-9059-y. ISSN 1871-0131. S2CID 143891785.