New department will add teeth to rules regulating chengguan

Twenty-six female city management officers, or chengguan, walk the streets in the Qilihe district of Lanzhou, capital city of the northwestern province of Gansu on Feb 25. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development recently issued a notice confirming the setting up of an affiliated National Urban Management Supervision Bureau to guide and supervise urban patrol officers, or chengguan, across the country. Southern Metropolis Daily commented on Saturday:

The newly established National Urban Management Supervision Bureau showcases the central government's determination to streamline urban management nationwide. Four regions including Shanghai and neighboring Jiangsu province have set up their own urban management offices and more are expected to follow.

The establishment of such a bureau has long been called for. Urban management authorities at all levels are often assigned tasks that are supposed to be taken care of by other departments, such as the environmental protection bureaus and police. And their routine enforcement activities have faced numerous questions even challenges.

Among all, hiring a great number of urban patrol officers on temporary contracts is widely seen as the most disputable move, as it has resulted in serious clashes with unlicensed street vendors. The temporarily hired and untrained officers are from time to time accused of using excessive force when enforcing the law. This will now come to an end as urban management enforcers will now be under stricter supervision.

According to the draft regulations on urban management that aim to draw the boundaries for the powers of urban patrol officers, what the temporary officers are allowed to do is basically confined to auxiliary jobs ranging from inspection and information collection to dissuading people from committing crimes. The local urban management departments will now also face the legal consequences of any excessive enforcement actions or wrongdoing on the part of their officers.

Besides, the number of auxiliary officers is not to exceed the number of registered permanent officers and the number of temporary officers should gradually be reduced. The urban management authorities at all levels are also forbidden from using fines to pay their expenses, and their daily law enforcement activities should be recorded for future assessments.