Policing with the people in China: implementing the mass line in criminal investigation. A synthesis of the literature

Abstract

This article takes a rare look into operational policing in China. It examines the literature, written in the Chinese language and in English, utilising a thematic analysis, on the subject of the mass line (ML) in criminal investigation. While there are many studies on the wider aspects of ML policing, there are few studies on the specific area of criminal investigation in operational policing in China. The studies that were identified focused on three aspects: the need for relying on the masses, the problems encountered in the reform era in implementing this guideline and the causes of these problems, and the strategies for enhanced implementation of this guideline in criminal investigation. Studies written in English concentrate on the history and policy changes in Chinese policing that tend to be introductory and descriptive in nature. This study concludes that relying on the masses (the public) in solving a criminal case is definitely a significant advantage for carrying out the ML in criminal investigation work, but not the only one. A more in-depth study on implementing the ML in criminal investigation is needed particularly focusing on how to effectively concentrate the ideas and efforts of the rank and file within a police force through implementing the appropriate style of leadership.

Keywords:

• The mass line
• relying on the masses
• style of leadership
• criminal investigation
• China

Notes

1. Netizen is a newly created word from Net (=Internet) and citizen, referring to someone who spends a lot of time using the Internet.

2. ‘Renrou search’, also called ‘human flesh search’, is a practice popularised by Chinese netizens that involves hunting down the personal details of a publicly despised person and posting them online.

3. MicroBlog is a type of web site diary that usually contains someone’s personal experiences, interests, comments on various issues, and provides links to other places on the Internet.

4. This refers to the Yanda Campaigns (campaigns for severely fighting serious crimes) launched periodically throughout 1981 to 2001 in China aiming to solve the soaring crime rate that emerged after the economic reform since the late 1970s.

5. For more information, please read On Practice in the Selected works of Mao Tse-tung (1st ed., Vol. I, pp. 295–309). Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1965.