Getting Used to Guns

By+yin+Pumin

on July 15， the Beijing police force officially launched its second phase of firearms training， aiming to further improve its performance in response activities， especially the shooting skills of frontline policemen who are deployed during emergencies.

“Compared to the previous training at the end of June， the current one added live-fire drills under more complicated situations， requiring police officers to be able to shoot within 1 to 1.5 seconds while under high pressure，” said Li Qiang， Deputy Director of the Fifth Section of the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Since April， some big cities in China， including Beijing and Shanghai， began dispatching armed police to patrol the streets， in the wake of a fatal knife attack on March 1 in Kunming， southwest Chinas yunnan Province， which killed 29 people and injured 143 others.

In dealing with the attack， local police were alleged to have failed to tackle the knife-wielding perpetrators， due to lack of firearms.

Along with the rising number of patrolling police with firearms， a concern has also been aroused among the public about the reasonable use and the management of guns.

Rearmed officers

On April 20， some 1，000 police officers appeared on the streets of Shanghai， patrolling the city with firearms.

In addition to the guns， they carried seven other pieces of equipment with them—ammunition， tear gas， batons， handcuffs， flashlights， first-aid kits and walkie-talkies.

“violent crimes have become real threats to public security and peoples safety，”said Rui Minghua， a senior police officer in Shanghai. “From now on， the Shanghai police will be able to stop any situation similar to the Kunming attack.”

For many years， there has been a tight control on police usage of firearms in China due to its low violent crime rate. Before the recent policy change， Rui said that it had been 60 years since the last time Shanghai police were armed with guns when patrolling the streets.

However， an increase in violent crimes in recent years has prompted calls for arming the police.

In January 2011， two armed suspects shot dead four policemen and injured five others in Taian， east Chinas Shandong Province. In the case， unarmed policemen went to a suspects home to investigate a murder； as soon as they identified themselves， the two men inside opened fire.

A similar incident occurred on March 29 this year， when a policeman was stabbed to death in yidu in central Chinas Hubei Province. The officer， Hu Qinchun， reportedly fought back with his baton.endprint

“The introduction of armed patrols is to improve the combat capabilities of frontline police officers and to effectively safeguard public security，” said yan Zhengbin， Deputy Director of the Public Security Management Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security （MPS）.

Following Shanghai， police in several other cities， such as Beijing， Nanjing in Jiangsu Province and Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， have also increased armed patrols on the streets.

More armed police will be deployed nationwide to conduct regular patrols in key areas as well as places with large numbers of people such as railway stations， airports， shopping malls， schools and hospitals， according to yan.

“The presence of armed police on the streets will help prevent crime and improve security，” said Dai Peng， Director of the Criminal Investigation Department of Beijing-based Peoples Public Security University of China. “The key issue is to regulate the use of the handguns to prevent the police from abusing their power.”

The Regulations on Police Equipment and Weapons of China， which went into effect in 1996， stipulate 15 situations when an officer can open fire. These include arson， chance of explosion， murder， hostage taking， the hijacking of aircraft and other serious crimes that threaten public safety.

Police may shoot if a suspect fails to surrender after warnings. They may also shoot if there is no time for give a verbal warning or when issuing a warning could lead to fatal consequences.

The regulations， however， also list four situations when police should not fire： if a suspect is pregnant or a minor—unless they have committed a violent crime； if a suspect is in a crowded place or somewhere containing large quantities of flammables， explosives， poisonous or radioactive materials， unless not shooting would be more fatal； if the suspect has stopped their criminal activity； or if a suspect is incapable of committing further crimes.

Despite these rules， the current laws and regulations were written before todays security situation and some provisions are not detailed enough， according to legal experts.

Ma Zhenchuan， former Director of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau， said that some problematic regulations could hamper a quick and correct police response to a crime.

Ma cited the Kunming terrorist attack in March. “In that case， the police officer who finally shot four criminals dead had no right to open fire until the command center authorized him. Our regulations should have given him clear guidance to decide on the spot，” Ma said.endprint

yu Lingyun， a professor at the School of Law of Tsinghua University， warned that making a decision under pressure while considering all of the provisions would be too difficult.

yu said making the correct snap decision in a threatening situation requires long-term and stringent training. “[The skill] requires combining aspects of techniques， laws， and mentality，” yu said.

In early April， the MPS launched a special training program on firearms usage to all security forces in the country to strengthen their ability to handle incidents.

The training mainly focused on policemen who patrol streets and handle emergencies in big cities and county-level regions. It also provided teaching on the laws as well as training in actual combat skills.

About 10，000 trainers taught qualified officers to use firearms， with each county-level region having three trainers on average.

The ministry also stressed that public security organs at all levels should establish rules and regulations on routine exercises and setterm intensified training， establish standardized long-term training mechanisms and strive to improve officers practical skills.

tight supervision

On May 29， five people were injured after a police officers gun was fired accidentally during a security training session in a kindergarten in Zhengzhou， central Chinas Henan Province.

The bullet hit the ground， spraying shrapnel at the arms and legs of four parents and one child.

“The case reveals the policeman didnt know how to handle his weapon， a common problem among many Chinese officers，”commented Pi yijun， a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

Compared to the as-yet minimally trained officers， cases involving lax management of police firearms have triggered greater public concerns.

In May alone， the media reported at least three cases of missing police firearms. Though all the officers involved in the cases reportedly have been sacked or punished， the backlash is evident.

In addition， the legality of gun use by police officers in some scenarios has been widely questioned.

On May 30， a police officer who was alleged to be drunk shot and killed a villager during a local dispute in Qujing City in yunnan. An internal investigation concluded the gun went off by accident and that the officer was sober at the time.

On the same day， an officer in Sansui County in southwest Chinas Guizhou Province shot dead a drunken man who was threatening to hurt the drunk mans wife.endprint

To ensure safety and prevent abuse， the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau has issued specific regulations on how to retrieve， holster， use and return guns for the police.

“For example， officers must write a report if a gun is drawn， no matter whether it is fired or not，” said Rui with the bureau.

According to the regulations， immediately after using a gun， an officer has to make a verbal report to the command center and complete a detailed written report within six hours.

If there are casualties， the officer also needs to specify what he sees and hears before firing， what warnings he gives， how many shots are fired and the distance between him and the suspects.

As a regulated process， police tutors and psychologists will be arranged to evaluate the ability of officers before they are armed， according to the MPS. There will also be personnel files and counseling sessions as part of the evaluation， it said. Officers will also attend counseling sessions after opening fire on suspects.

Qu Xinjiu， Dean of the Criminal Justice College of the China University of Political Science and Law， urged prosecutors to supervise the police forces use of firearms and step in when the public demands an impartial review of a shooting case.

“A procurators office should draw its own conclusion from independent investigations on whether the polices gunshots were legitimate， justified or abusive，” Qu said.endprint