People's Police (China)

The People's Police is the national civilian police force of the People's Republic of China. Police in China have a variety of roles in addition to enforcing the law, they are also responsible for the maintenance of social stability, and in this sense policing in China performs not just a law enforcement function but a political function as well. The majority of national police forces are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Over the years, the power of the police has gradually been expanded to border control, under the auspices of the China Immigration Inspection (CII), household registration, issuance of the National ID card (see: Resident Identity Card) and cybersecurity (under the 11th Bureau of the MPS), network security and website registration.

Title
In mainland China, People's Police refers to the identity of law enforcement officers, while Public Security or the police denotes a specific government agency, namely the public security organ. Although prison police, judicial police, and other such units also fall under the police system, due to the special nature of their work, they are generally not referred to as the police.

Before the turn of the 21st century, public security officers often used Public Security as their designation and term of address, rather than the broader term the police. Additionally, public security officers, who handle the majority of public order and criminal cases, are the most frequently encountered police force by the public. These factors have led some people, especially those in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities, to inaccurately refer to mainland China's police officers as Public Security .

The uniforms and vehicle liveries of the People's Police generally maintain a consistent style, with their primary distinctions being the inscriptions indicating the departments to which various police forces belong, namely Public Security, Justice, State Security, Court, and Procuratorate.

History
Founded in October 1949 with the inception of the People's Republic of China, and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China's major national police force operates under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

The influence of the Soviet Union was paramount in the early years of the People's Republic, and guided the Chinese approach to policing.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), the powers of the police were both strengthened and weakened; on the one hand, they were given control over much of the judicial system, since People's Courts and People's Procuratorates basically collapsed, meaning that local directors of public security bureaus could easily arrest and convict almost any person they chose; on the other hand, the top leadership of the police was almost totally purged and persecuted, and political commissars from the PLA (most of them hand-picked by the Cultural Revolution Group) were brought in to take control over the largest and most important public security bureaus, including those of Beijing and Shanghai.

The current structure and mission of the People's Police was formalized in the People's Police Law of the People's Republic of China (February 1995), which states:

"Tasks of the People's Police are to safeguard state security, maintain public order, protect citizens' personal safety and freedom and their legal property, protect public property, and prevent, stop and punish illegal and criminal activities. The People's Police consist of policemen working in public security organs, state security organs, prisons and organs in charge of reeducation through labor, as well as judicial policemen working in the People's Courts and the People's Procuratorates."

Branches
According to the People's Police Law of the People's Republic of China (1995), the People's Police comprises five components: Please note, the People's Armed Police, led and managed by the Central Military Commission, is one of the country's armed forces and is not part of the People's Police force.
 * People's Police of Public Security Organs
 * Working under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS)
 * People's Police of State Security Organs
 * Working under the Ministry of State Security (MSS)
 * People's Police of Judicial Administrative Organs
 * Working under the Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
 * Judicial Police of People's Court
 * Working under the Supreme People's Court (SPC)
 * Judicial Police of People's Procuratorate
 * Working under the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP)
 * Working under the Supreme People's Court (SPC)
 * Judicial Police of People's Procuratorate
 * Working under the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP)
 * Working under the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP)
 * Working under the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP)

Public Security Police
The Public Security Police handle routine law enforcement tasks such as maintaining public order, conducting criminal investigations, and managing border control. This constitutes the majority of China's police force and falls under the jurisdiction of the MPS. The responsibilities of different public security organ departments are clearly outlined. These departments include:
 * Political Security (1st Bureau of the MPS): Responsible for maintaining social and political stability, upholding the political principles established by the Constitution, and handling cases that undermine national and cultural unity (with some tasks falling under the 4th Bureau, specifically those having to do with investigating religious activities and cults)
 * Economic Crime Investigations (2nd Bureau of the MPS)
 * Public Order Management (3rd Bureau of the MPS): Responsible for preventing, detecting and stopping illegal crimes and violent behaviour, handling mass incidents such as assemblies, demonstrations and maintaining order in public places, managing special industries and dangerous goods, and handling public security administrative law enforcement cases
 * Criminal Investigations (5th Bureau of the MPS)
 * Food and Forestry (7th Bureau of the MPS): Responsible for issues of food, the ecological environment, forest and grassland, and biological safety cases
 * Railway (10th Bureau of the MPS)
 * Special Service (8th Bureau of the MPS): Responsible for the security tasks of Communist Party and State leaders, major provincial leaders and important visiting foreign guests
 * Anti-Narcotics (21st Bureau of the MPS)
 * Public Information Network Security (11th Bureau of the MPS): Responsible for monitoring the contents of public Internet websites, e-mails, chat messages and visitation records
 * Detention Center Management (13th Bureau of the MPS): Oversees the administration of detention centers and Qincheng Prison (note that all other prisons instead fall under the MOJ, which has its own, different, Prison Police)
 * Customs Anti-Smuggling (14th Bureau of the MPS): Responsible for handling customs smuggling cases, in collaboration with the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of the General Administration of Customs
 * Civil Aviation (15th Bureau of the MPS): Responsible for handling administrative law enforcement cases in the air and at airports, maintaining civil aviation flight safety and handling hijacking and other sudden air security situations, in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Administration of China
 * Traffic Management (17th Bureau of the MPS)
 * Foreign Affairs (19th Bureau of the MPS): Responsible for the security of foreign embassies in China and for liaison work in Chinese embassies and consulates abroad
 * Household Registration: Responsible for maintaining household registration and administering the Hukou system
 * Immigration or Border Inspection: Operating as CII (itself a child agency of the MPS)
 * Others such as patrol units, port units, tactical units, and aviation units.

State Security Police
The State Security Police are responsible for intelligence collection and analysis, counter-espionage, political security, and also partially participate in domestic security affairs.

These officers operate under the MSS. They generally perform secret police duties and help maintain social stability and preserve the power of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

They should not be confused with the 1st Bureau of the MPS (described above in the Public Security Police section), despite sometimes similar duties and overlapping missions.

Judicial Administrative Police
The Judicial Administrative Police consists mainly of police officers stationed in prisons and drug rehabilitation centers.

Prison Police oversee prison security, carry out prison guard duties, and aid in prison administration, similar to correctional officers in other nations.

Drug Rehabilitation Police handle the enforcement of isolation and drug rehabilitation efforts for drug addicts, along with corrective measures for minor offenders.

They should not be confused with the judicial police of the courts and procuratorates.

Court Judicial Police
The Court Judicial Police are responsible for the security of People's Courts at the provincial, municipal and township levels. They belong to the judicial system and maintain order and security in courthouses and assist judges in judicial investigations.

Procuratorate Judicial Police
The Procuratorate Judicial Police are responsible for the security of People's Procuratorates at the provincial, municipal and township levels. They belong to the judicial system and maintain order and security in procuratorates and assist public procurators in judicial investigations.

Ranks
The rank system of the People's Police is as follows: