Exercise of police powers to be monitored to help enforcement

China's public security authorities are stepping up efforts to build a closed-loop oversight system and accelerate digital transformation to ensure police powers are exercised in a standardized, transparent and accountable manner.

Officials from the Ministry of Public Security said at a news conference on Monday that the goal is to prevent enforcement problems at the source and safeguard citizens' rights.

Hao Yunhong, director of the ministry's Legal Affairs Bureau, said public security agencies are strengthening oversight across the enforcement process — from filing and investigating cases to coordinating with judicial proceedings.

New institutional mechanisms, such as rules on bail pending trial and reviews on whether detention is necessary, have been introduced to set clearer standards for police work. "These measures help officers understand what to do, how to do it and to what extent, ensuring that every action is carried out in accordance with the law," Hao said.

To improve consistency in case handling, the ministry has pushed reforms to standardize how cases are received, recorded and filed. Case-reporting centers have been set up nationwide to ensure that all legitimate complaints are promptly registered and processed according to law.

Legal affairs departments under public security authorities now review every criminal case and coordinate with procuratorates to ensure proper handling. About 89,000 legal officers have been assigned to grassroots police stations nationwide, Hao said.

As a result, the number of cases supervised by procuratorates for filing fell 71 percent year-on-year in 2024, while the rates of declined arrests and nonprosecution each dropped by about 6 percent.

Under the law, procuratorates oversee the case-registration activities of public security organs to ensure compliance with statutory procedures and address any irregularities.

Hao said all case-related information must now be entered into a unified enforcement information system, allowing every stage of a case to be tracked online. This, he said, has helped shift law enforcement from "post-incident correction" to "pre-incident prevention".

The ministry has also launched targeted operations to address public concerns over enforcement irregularities, including a nationwide initiative to regulate law enforcement involving businesses. These efforts have curbed profit-driven or cross-jurisdictional enforcement and ensured fairer treatment for enterprises, according to the ministry.

China has built 3,266 law enforcement and case-management centers covering all cities, transforming police work from a dispersed model into a more centralized, standardized and efficient system.

Chen Min, deputy director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, said that in principle all criminal cases and major administrative cases should now be handled within these centers. The new model, she said, has significantly improved efficiency and strengthened human rights protections.

The centers also offer one-stop support services, including medical examinations, postal and courier access, injury assessments, price appraisals and facilities for protecting minors.

Since the centers were put into use, no major enforcement-related incidents have been reported. In Jiangsu province, Chongqing and other regions, case handling efficiency has risen by more than 30 percent, Chen said.

Technology is also reshaping how police work. New digital tools now support electronic evidence collection, remote testimony, electronic signatures and intelligent transcription.

Police officers have been equipped with more than 1.3 million body cameras, ensuring that case filing, on-site operations and interrogations are recorded in real time. "We encourage police officers to become accustomed to enforcing the law under camera surveillance," Hao said.

Intelligent monitoring systems are used to detect unregistered or delayed cases, providing automatic reviews, early warnings and real-time corrective feedback to ensure that legitimate complaints are handled promptly and according to law.

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn