China removes police quota to smooth case filing

Chinese police will remove unscientific evaluation criteria such as case clearance rates to improve work efficiency and make the procedure for the public to file a case easier.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on Tuesday published a circular urging timely and proper acceptance of reports and accusations from the public, noting that all police agencies should accept cases that fall into police responsibility without denial or passing the buck.

The circular said unscientific and unreasonable assessment criteria that may affect willingness to receive and accept cases, such as crime incidence and case clearance rate quotas, must be removed.

Public satisfaction of police work should be given more weight in evaluation, it said.

The circular urged better transparency of the case filing procedure, requiring all cases received and accepted to be properly recorded online and disclosed to relevant parties, unless state secrets are involved.

Parties concerned in a case will be able to follow the latest development of the case via multiple platforms, such as the police website, WeChat or mobile app, according to the MPS.

The circular also stipulated punishments in accordance with relevant laws for intentional hoax reports and frame-ups. Endi