According to the original country report for China compiled in 1993 for The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems, applicants to the position of officer in the Public Security Bureau had to be graduates of senior high school or university and under the age of 25. Most police recruits were graduates of police universities or academies in China, though in some circumstances, those lacking a diploma from police schools could be recruited (World Factbook 1993). Recruits at the rank of officer were usually trained at schools affiliated with the municipalities (ibid.). Training generally lasted for six months (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Public security offices in each province were to begin administering psychological tests to applicants in 2005 (CRI 5 Jan. 2005). Those who did not meet the requirements would not be accepted into police academies (ibid.). In Guangdong, psychological training was to be incorporated into the regular police-training program (Beijing Review 20 Jan. 2005). No information on whether these measures were implemented could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In a 2005 recruitment drive at the Shenzhen People's Police School, applicants with no more than a vocational school education and a Shenzhen hukou could fill the position of a low-ranking security officer (Shenzhen Daily 11 Apr. 2005). Applicants had their basic physical fitness as well as their certificates and diplomas verified (ibid.).

In Beijing, 17 police officers were handpicked in 2004 to participate in a training program in hostage negotiation (China Daily 21 Oct. 2004). In Jiangsu province, a total of 32 police officers were chosen to undergo training in crisis negotiation, the first program of its kind in the province and a rare undertaking in China (China Daily 6 Sep. 2004). Topics such as criminal psychology, negotiating skills, physical fitness and hostage rescue were reportedly covered in the program (ibid.).

Between August and November 2003, 33,761 public security police officers throughout China were dismissed for failure to meet job qualifications or on charges of corruption or other offences (AP 7 Jan. 2004; Embassy of China 7 Jan. 2004). The four-month drive to "raise policing standards" followed a July 2003 report by the Ministry of Public Security highlighting problems within the police ranks (AP 7 Jan. 2004). According to the Xinhua News Agency, a shortage of law enforcement staff resulted in the recruitment of unqualified employees (ibid.; Embassy of China 7 Jan. 2004). There were reportedly 1.7 million police officers in all of China, with richer areas having more police officers than poorer areas (ibid.).

Xinhua also reported on 11 June 2004 that, in a physical fitness test of 394 PSB officers in five different provinces in 2003, 70 per cent did not meet the fitness standards set by the Ministry of Public Security. The Assistant Minister of Public Security speculated that the high rate of police death and injury on duty was partly attributable to the "'poor physical condition and slack exercise programs of the police'" (Xinhua 11 June 2004). The Assistant Minister added that crime scene investigation skills were weak; for instance, the police were successful in obtaining fingerprints from suspects in fewer than 10 per cent of criminal cases in 2003. The Ministry of Public Security purportedly vowed to improve the physical and investigative skills of its officers by launching a nation-wide training program (Xinhua 11 June 2004), and by asking provincial governments to standardize recruitment and training (AP 7 Jan. 2004).

Further information on the recruitment, selection and training of public security officers, including whether officers are trained in methods of securing a site under investigation and conducting raids, could not be found among the sources consulted within time constraints.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Associated Press (AP). 7 January 2004. "China Fires Nearly 45,000 Police for Abuses, Lack of Job Qualifications." (Dialog).

Beijing Review. 20 January 2005. Vol. 48, No. 3. Tang Yuankai. "Cops Stressed Out." http://www.bjreview.com.cn/05-03-e/Nation-2005-03-3.htm [Accessed 26 May 2005]

China Daily. 21 October 2004. "Police Learn Hostage Negotiation." (China Internet Information Center Website) http://www.china.org.cn/english/ [Accessed 24 May 2005]

_____. 6 September 2004. "Cops Study Crisis Negotiation Skills." (China Internet Information Center Website) http://www.china.org.cn/english/ [Accessed 24 May 2005]

China Radio International (CRI). 5 January 2005. "New Police to Take Mental Tests." (China Internet Information Center Website) http://www.china.org.cn/english/ [Accessed 24 May 2005]

Embassy of China, Washington. 7 January 2004. "33,761 Unqualified Policemen Dismissed in Clean-Up Campaign." http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/zgrq/t58000.htm [Accessed 24 May 2005]

Shenzhen Daily. 11 April 2005. "Police Recruitment Attracts Thousands of People." (Tdctrade.com Website) http://my.tdctrade.com/airnewse/index.asp?id=6193 [Accessed 24 May 2005]

The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems. 1993. Jianan Guo et al. "China." Edited by Graeme R. Newman. United States Department of Justice. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/wfbcjchi.txt [Accessed 25 May 2005]

Xinhua News Agency. 11 June 2004. "Police Performance Falls Short." (China Internet Information Center Website) http://www.china.org.cn/english/ [Accessed 24 May 2005]

Additional Sources Consulted

British Journal of Criminology. 2002. Vol. 42. Kam C. Wong. "Policing in the People's Republic of China: The Road to Reform in the 1990s."

China. 1 January 1997. Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China.

Li Xiancui. 7 September 1998. Crime and Policing in China. Australian Institute of Criminology Occasional Seminar Series.

Three oral sources did not provide information within time constraints.

Internet sites, including: The Economist; Interpol; Jane's Intelligence Review; Ministry of Public Security, China; United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention; World Justice Information Network.