Social protests claim ever more police victims
China's Public Security Ministry has spoken out against an increase in crime linked to protests, which is 500% more than it was in the eighties. Every day, one policeman is killed and 20 are wounded.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Scmp) The increase in social protests and a shortage of personnel "are the main cause of the rise in human casualties for Chinese police". Within 15 years there has been "a dramatic rise in victims" reaching "one death and 20 injured per day".
This was announced yesterday by China's Public Security Ministry that said: "From the beginning of the 90s, social conflicts in the country have become more intense" and "at the same time", problems linked with "shortage of men, the growth of violent crime and inadequate equipment" have become "ever more serious".
Between 1990 and 2005 according to official data of the ministry 6,819 officers died and 120,783 were injured in the line of duty. This is almost a 500% increase over the 1981-1989 figure and more than 600% the total killed between 1949 and 1980.
Fan Jingyu, a deputy director of the ministry's Personnel and Training Bureau, said: "The main problem is the shortage of personnel and the limits which officials impose on themselves regarding shooting to prevent crimes."
"Chinese police 1.7 million people - account for 0.12% of the population, while the ratio in developed countries is 0.35%. The result is that each policeman must work at least 20 hours overtime per week".
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