How do you feel about the current state of public security in China? Well, how about we add guns, and people wielding them in public places… now, do you feel safer?

That’s the equation spelled out by the Guangdong public security bureau as an additional 11,000 police officers will be patrolling the streets of Guangzhou starting May 1. Lu Feng, deputy-director of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, told Global Times that the additional patrols will include police special forces, plainclothes officers, security officers and auxiliary police force and will be working in tandem with the city’s video surveillance system.

While the plan is to have the patrols begin next month, Guangzhou residents were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at the state of policing to come when an estimated 1,300 police were assigned to patrols this past Qingming Festival. Hyped as the “most heavily-guarded Qingming in history,” the patrols were mostly centered around Yinhe Park in which patrolling police officers were seen outfitted with semi-automatic rifles, bullet-proof vests, and a demeanor that is intimidating/comforting through intimidation.

Seen as a response to the Kunming attacks on March 1 that killed 33 people, some experts are predicting that such police patrols will become commonplace. Said Wang Hongwei, a professor with the School of Public Administration and Policy at the Renmin University of China: “It’s more normal to see armed police patrols now, and this will increase the ability to deal with emergencies by effectively cracking down on criminals while improving the practical training of the police force.”

In other related security news, Shenzhen looks to increase its police presence to all 148 hospitals by the end of the year to stop violent attacks upon hospital staff. The Shenzhen Health Authority stated that 128 medical workers were injured in 130 cases last year, a large increase from having 50 injured staff members from 57 cases that happened back in 2010.

Hopefully such security tactics will prevent any further attacks in major urban centers where they will be highly publicized to a fearful populace.

Photo: Chinanews