China News Service, December 7 — An article published today in the Macao Daily reviews the public security situation in Macao before and after the handover. The article points out that after the handover, under the strong support of the Central Government, serious violent crimes in Macao continued to decline, and public security gradually stabilized, making Macao one of the safest regions in the world. However, with the rapid development of society, the public security situation in Macao has changed, and how to deal with existing public security issues has received much attention.
An excerpt from the article is as follows:
Ten years ago, the landmark of Macao - the Ruins of St. Paul's - frequently appeared in the news reports of nearby TV stations. It was not for promoting the tourism and entertainment industry of the small city, but for reporting serious violent crime news such as gang feuds, bomb explosions, kidnappings for ransom, arson attacks on vehicles, etc. At that time, Macao was like a battlefield, with gang leaders being shot dead in bustling areas, the Chief Public Prosecutor's car being bombed, and even journalists being caught in the crossfire. The unrest severely affected the tourism industry, and those dark days of bloodshed are still vividly remembered today.
After the handover, under the strong support of the Central Government, serious violent crimes in Macao continued to decline, and public security gradually stabilized, making Macao one of the safest regions in the world. Under the favorable conditions of good public security, the Special Administrative Region government vigorously developed the tourism and gambling industry, complemented by the unparalleled, fusion of Chinese and Western heritage sites, making Macao gradually become an internationally renowned tourist city, with tens of millions of tourists visiting each year, creating a prosperous society.
With the rapid development of society, the public security situation in Macao has changed. Although serious violent crimes have significantly decreased after the handover, thefts, robberies, and other crimes directly affecting people's livelihood have continued to rise, causing the overall crime rate to continue to increase. At the same time, cross-border crimes, high-tech crimes, juvenile crimes, drug-related crimes, and other public security issues have always existed long-term.
In response to the new public security situation, the security department combats crime through means such as promoting community policing, strengthening intelligence exchange and cooperation with neighboring countries or regions, and enhancing police capabilities with technology. Meanwhile, measures such as expanding the establishment, revising career paths, increasing salaries, and improving promotion systems have been implemented to boost the morale of the security forces and fulfill their responsibilities in maintaining public security.
A clean, efficient, and highly spirited police force is the most important factor in effectively maintaining public security. After the handover, the SAR government immediately carried out structural adjustments to the security system. The Police General Headquarters was officially established in October 2001, coordinating and commanding the two main police institutions - the Public Security Police Bureau and the Judiciary Police Bureau. In November of the same year, the Customs Department was officially established and began operations, ensuring the normal development of Macao's foreign trade while striving to combat smuggling activities and protect intellectual property rights.
In the early stages after the handover, there were still unstable factors in Macao's public security, including sensational kidnapping cases such as those of lawyer Hua Nian Da and trainer Tan Wen Jiu. All these cases were quickly solved under effective police deployment, rescuing the hostages. Under the strong deterrent effect, in recent years, the number of kidnapping cases in Macao has remained at zero.
After the opening of the gambling franchise, the number of casinos in Macao rapidly increased, inevitably leading to an increase in cases involving significant casino-related interests. At the same time, with the rapid economic development of Macao, market internationalization, and the lure of vast profits related to the gambling industry, crimes in Macao began to become highly organized, cross-border, and technologically advanced, such as cross-border illegal gambling groups, cross-border drug trafficking groups, cross-border usury groups, and cross-border credit card forgery groups.
In response to the severity of cross-border crime issues, in addition to enhancing its own investigative capabilities and intelligence networks, the Macao police continuously strengthen intelligence exchanges and cooperation with mainland and neighboring country/region police forces, especially closely cooperating with Guangdong Province police, effectively combating various types of cross-border crimes.
In recent years, with a significant increase in tourists to Macao, street pickpocketing and robbery cases have noticeably risen. To maintain Macao's image as an ideal tourist city, the police timely adjust their forces, increasing uniformed and plainclothes officers patrolling hotspots for pickpockets, achieving certain results.
Looking to the future, for Macao to ensure sustained economic prosperity, diversification of industries, and residents' well-being, public security stability must be a prerequisite, and the security department must face more challenges and difficulties. The security authorities will continue to use measures such as coordinating police forces, intelligence-led policing, technology-enhanced law enforcement, widening legal coverage, improving structures, and police-civilian interaction to formulate effective strategies according to the public security situation, ensuring Macao's long-term peace and stability.
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