The Philosophy of Community Policing in China

Abstract

This article is an investigation into the philosophy informing the People's Republic of China's (PRC's) community (more appropriately “mass” or “people”) policing. This article is divided into four parts. Part 1 states the focus and justifications of this research. Part 2, serving both as a literature review and a comparative context for the study of the PRC's community policing philosophy to follow, outlines in brief the U.S. approach to community policing. Part 3 describes the philosophy of Chinese community policing, past and present, as compared to the Western mode. Part 4 summarizes as it discusses the lessons provided by this investigation into PRC community policing philosophy, concluding that there is much similarity in spirit amid drastic differences in practice.