Focus

Break-ins rise in parts of Beijing

By Wang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-01 11:12

Police blame migrant worker population for mixed results of yearlong crackdown on burglars

A yearlong special effort to fight burglary in Beijing seems to have helped in some districts, but failed dramatically in others as 17 areas in Beijing witnessed a surge of burglary cases in the latter half of 2009.

Yandan in Changping District topped the list with the number of burglaries in the area increasing by 113 percent. Three other areas in southern Beijing also saw the number of burglaries rise by at least 100 percent, according to figures from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Last year Beijing police paid special attention to 50 areas with big migrant worker populations, mostly in suburban areas. The numbers of reported burglary cases in 32 areas dropped in the second half of the 2009 compared with the first half, while 17 areas reported an increase in cases.

When asked why there was an increased number of burglaries in 17 areas, an officer from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said the large migrant worker population in these places was the main cause. He refused to give his name, saying doing so would break internal bureau rules.

"People don't know each other well in areas with large migrant populations, so it is pretty difficult to have the neighborhood watch thing in such places," he said.

The poor construction quality of most buildings in these areas is another reason the number of burglary cases rose. Compared with the sturdy doors common in most modern apartments, shabby wooden doors are easy for burglars to get past.

According to a report by the Beijing Morning Post on Jan 18, burglaries in Lucheng community and Jiugong community in Daxing District dropped by as much as 100 percent and in Huilongguan community in Changping District dropped by 80 percent.

Wang Yuyu, a resident in Huilongguan, told METRO that he felt the change.

"The community is much safer now. I didn't hear of any burglary cases last year; while for the last three years, I heard of almost 10 cases every year," said Wang.

Wang saw police cars doing patrols in the community during the night, even in winter.

The Beijing municipal Public Security Bureau said that 66 percent of the total cases happened in rented properties, 60 percent in single-story buildings and that 50 percent involved breaking into apartments.

Starting on Dec 23 the Beijing police launched another effort, dubbed the 'Winter Movement' to crackdown on all kinds of crimes, including burglary. Places with higher crimes rates are seeing greater numbers of police officers and the officers are patrolling more often.

"We will arrange some plainclothes police in areas notorious for robberies or thefts," a police officer said in an interview with Beijing Morning Post.

Here are some suggestions from the police to guard against burglars.

Lock doors properly before going to work.

Get rid off leaflets stuck to the front door in a timely manner to make potential burglars aware that there is someone at home. Burglars tend to target homes with messy doors, a sign that nobody has been there for a long time.

Install a solid door.

Keep crimes in check

In the first half of 2009, the Beijing police solved more than 33,000 crime cases and eliminated more than 1,300 organized criminal gangs, according to figures from the 2009 Annual Report on Public Service of Beijing published by the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

Almost 90 percent of the murder cases and all the kidnap cases were solved in the same period of time, and every hostage was successfully rescued by the police, the report said.

Tightened security forces have helped keep serious crimes in check and prevented minor cases from escalating, said Liu Ruibin, head of the operations department of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The number of second-tier crimes - which include murder and making terrorist threats - rose 13 percent in 2009 (police refused to reveal the exact number of such crimes, saying it was sensitive information), compared with 2007, although the number of first-tier crimes fell from 31 in 2007 to six in 2009, the bureau said.

The overall number of the first and second-tier crimes, including terrorist attacks, explosions, hostage-taking, hijacking, shootings, bank robbery and other major threats, dropped in 2009 from two years ago, said Liu.

Liu said police received around 16,000 alarm calls each day last year, about 4,000 of which required an police officer to be sent to the scene.

Metro