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Q: What are the different types of Police in China?
Rob Rocks story about running a red light in front of a Police Officer got me thinking.
What are all the different styles of Police uniform we see in China? And what powers of arrest do they have?
For example. In the factory where I work, we have the usual grey shirt security guys. Just security guys right? Nope. Because now and then they go out and do riot control training. These guys have full riot gear in their dorms. And when there was a disturbance in my area a few years back, it was these guys who were called out to respond. So I don't think they are security guys in the western sense.
Then there are the blue shirt local cops, the population control officers, the black shirt Police, the Police with guns ( not many of those), and the Firemen.
I just wondered. What is your take on what the different types of Police do?
For the record, I think the Police here are great. My interest is purely about understanding the country better, and to compare it to other countries I know about.
China desperately needs the Fashion Police to do something about the middle-aged who during the day dress in sequins, 'Hello Kitty' apparel, or the local version of the 'beijing bikini' 
icnif77:
In Liaoning winter, police is dressed in black leader jackets and pants, men and women, however mostly women stand in the traffic crossings regulating the traffic. None less than 175cm.
I wonder, if they have more accidents, because drivers are distracted. I was watching her once while walking and (almost
!) step into it....
andyinshenyang:
Maybe in Dalian they do icnif77 but they certainly wear more than that in winter in Shenyang, Liaoyang and Panjin!
icnif77:
Leader is just outside layer. Whole Liaoning has the same dress code. Yingkou, Dalian, Anshan, Shenyang all in black leader.
BHGAL:
2015-08-31
Here the “PARKING POLICE” are a couple of young/middle-aged ladies that control the equivalent of about 4 blocks of parking. They have no uniforms but they do wear goofy sun hats. They do a fine job of keeping the street open to traffic during daylight hours, and directing folks to acceptable parking locations. If you go out late in the evening or very early in the morning, it is pretty amazing, where people leave their cars overnight. Many of us pay for our parking, inside the gated communities, those that don’t pay, it is a free for all out on the public streets. I have no idea about the girls ability to give out tickets or fines, but they do seem to control the parking on the streets during daylight hours.
I hated parking meters and PARKING POLICE, back home…small town boy, park wherever I damn well please. But here, too many cars. Why the hell do they even have them? Work is at most a couple KM away and buses and taxis and free use bikes abound.
Repeating mistakes that us westerners made seems to be prolific. My mother-in-law sees it, and shakes her head at the insanity.
Wiki extensive on ChinPol:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_China
Overview[edit]
The national security system is made up of the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Armed Police, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and the state judicial, procuratorial, and penal systems. The Ministry of Public Security oversees all domestic police activity in China, including the People's Armed Police Force. The ministry is responsible for police operations and prisons and has dedicated departments for internal political, economic, and communications security. Its lowest organizational units are public security stations, which maintain close day-to-day contact with the public. The People's Armed Police Force, with its 1.5 million personnel, is organized into 45 divisions. These include internal security police, border defense personnel, guards for government buildings and embassies, and police communications specialists.
The Ministry of State Security was established in 1983 to ensure "the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counterrevolutionary activities designed to sabotage or overthrow China's socialist system." The ministry is guided by a series of laws enacted in 1993, 1994, and 1997 that replaced the "counterrevolutionary" crime statutes. The ministry's operations include intelligence collection, both domestic and foreign. Authorities have used arrests on charges of revealing state secrets, subversion, and common crimes to suppress political dissent and social advocacy.
Security Bureau (Hong Kong) is the local security department for Hong Kong. The paramilitary Hong Kong Police Force was established in 1844 and has 27,375 uniformed personnel and 4,885 civilian staff. Hong Kong Correctional Service was established in 1879 and has 6,659 uniformed personnel and civilian staff. Both services report to this Security Bureau.
Secretariat for Security (Macau) is the local security department in Macau. Macau Security Force (established in 1999 by the merger of the Judiciary Police Unitary Police Service, Macau Prisons) is a force of 3,700 personnel and reports to the local Security department.
ScotsAlan:
Yup. I have read the wiki article. It does not cover it all.
For example, do SAFEA officers have the power of arrest?
icnif77:
I think, FEB would just call regular police, not arrest/detain people. FEB is just administrative part of Gov.
I called them first time while working with F, and nothing happened to me from FEB's side. I got my last pay, despite Co. earlier sent me an email, they won't pay it, because I breached the Contract.
I don't know much about Police in China. Same thing everywhere, except in China they don't speak English, so laowai is usually 'invisible'.
You can see 'guard/black dress police' at Bank's money transfers (morning and afternoon). They all carry Uzi style guns, and big gun inside the armoured truck.
ScotsAlan:
This is my point icniff. You say the guys in the money vans are Police. But are they?
Banks are companies. Why would they have armed Police to guard their money vans.
Are these guys Police or private security employees?
This is why I asked the question.
Consider firemen. I always assumed they were part of the armed Police. But after the Tianjin explosion, It seems they are part of the Army. The official ones anyway. It turns out that there are also unofficial firemen. Employed by private companies. And going by the China Daily, these unofficial firemen died and their families get nothing. Because they were not official. Dozens died in their duty... but they were unofficial.
But I bet they had uniforms.
What do the uniforms mean?
Spiderboenz:
If the armed money van guys are police, then they are the worlds crappiest trained LEOs. Bad weapon discipline and a general lack of situational awareness... Disarming one would not be difficult.
You've got....
Jingcha
Gong An
Grey and Orange national highway cops
Choufa
Military Police
Chengguan
Plus many others, and yes the fire brigade is part of the Army.
ScotsAlan:
I found out today that the "low level" security guards at our factory also do "high level" security at prestigious events. I saw one of our guards go to his dorm in a black uniform and asked someone why. Agency staff it seems. They get sent where the agency sends them.
bad cop, worse cop.
no love for the streets, and still not loving police.
nzteacher80:
It sounds like you're straight out of a lower socio-economic urban area in a west coast American city.
China desperately needs the Fashion Police to do something about the middle-aged who during the day dress in sequins, 'Hello Kitty' apparel, or the local version of the 'beijing bikini'
icnif77:
In Liaoning winter, police is dressed in black leader jackets and pants, men and women, however mostly women stand in the traffic crossings regulating the traffic. None less than 175cm.
I wonder, if they have more accidents, because drivers are distracted. I was watching her once while walking and (almost!) step into it....
andyinshenyang:
Maybe in Dalian they do icnif77 but they certainly wear more than that in winter in Shenyang, Liaoyang and Panjin!
icnif77:
Leader is just outside layer. Whole Liaoning has the same dress code. Yingkou, Dalian, Anshan, Shenyang all in black leader.
BHGAL:
2015-08-31
Here the “PARKING POLICE” are a couple of young/middle-aged ladies that control the equivalent of about 4 blocks of parking. They have no uniforms but they do wear goofy sun hats. They do a fine job of keeping the street open to traffic during daylight hours, and directing folks to acceptable parking locations. If you go out late in the evening or very early in the morning, it is pretty amazing, where people leave their cars overnight. Many of us pay for our parking, inside the gated communities, those that don’t pay, it is a free for all out on the public streets. I have no idea about the girls ability to give out tickets or fines, but they do seem to control the parking on the streets during daylight hours.
I hated parking meters and PARKING POLICE, back home…small town boy, park wherever I damn well please. But here, too many cars. Why the hell do they even have them? Work is at most a couple KM away and buses and taxis and free use bikes abound.
Repeating mistakes that us westerners made seems to be prolific. My mother-in-law sees it, and shakes her head at the insanity.
even security guys look like police men in china..
It was disgusting..
unable to find who is police and who is security guard..
both have same dress code
I'm not sure how many types there are but the sexy female division in Dalian are definitely the best 
Hired thugs: Here to clear the bad crops so the streets don't get invaded by stalls or street singers. Random efficiency: if the street pays better, then the street gets its way.
Peacekeepers: Regular cops. Won't really do anything since they don't have the power to do anything. Just here to calm down bad situations and keep people quiet (more often than not by not resolving their issues).
Armed forces: For political disturbances or where a show off is needed.
Here are he 3 main categories. Indeed divided into a constellation of sub-categories for clarity's sake and responsibility pushing.
