Majority Report: Beijing Police Boast 100% Burglary Detection Rate in 2019

There's one more reason to sleep tight in Beijing after the recent release of the 2019 Beijing police report, which outlines how 100 percent of all murderers and thieves for the previous year have been apprehended.

Beijing is well-known for being one of the safest cities in the world (although we still advocate taking certain basic precautions when living abroad) but this new report about crime and apprehension rates from the capital's police force stretches the limits of credibility.

The report leads with the frankly unbelievable claim that all reported burglaries from 2019 were resolved, as too were all homicide cases. The report did not detail how exactly they determine a case closed or resolved but if somehow true this 100 percent success rate would put them at the top of the global leaderboard. According to website Statistica, in the US in 2018, for example, only 62.3 percent of all reported murders and manslaughters, 30.4 of robberies, and 17.6 of property theft cases were determined solved. 

These figures are worrisome for a number of reasons: pressure to close each and every single homicide and robbery case in the future may lead to rushed investigations and arrests. Just as prestigious schools discourage students who may lower their test score averages, police departments may also discourage victims from reporting 'difficult' or hard to resolve crimes.

Police data from 2019 also shows that a record-high number of burglary cases were solved, as well as a lower number of burglary reports filed to the police overall. Common theft and fraud were listed as the most frequent crimes, these two (and closely related crimes) making up for nearly 50 percent of misdeeds in the city last year. Numbeo however, one of the world’s largest database of user-contributed data on cities worldwide, puts Beijing right in the middle of the pack in their 'Safest Cities of Asia' index, with Abu Dhabi and Doha claiming the top two spots.

Public safety has been in the spotlight in recent years after a string of Didi controversies blighted the ride-hailing app's reputation, who took swift measures in response. Visa issues, diplomatic issues, and general safety are generally the top of the list of worries for waiguoren, but beyond that, most non-natives claim that Beijing is safer than 'back home.' Crimes of the sexual nature have also caught the eye of the public in recent years, with voyeurs and their cameraphones remaining a problem on the subway and other venues.

Whether the Man is making rap videos about public safety or going full-on Robocop, you can rest assured that there will never a dull moment when it comes to crime fighting in China.

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Images: Sina, Sina, China Trial