GUANGZHOU: Whether police should shoot at criminal suspects if they are 
resisting arrest has become a hot topic in the capital city of South China's 
Guangdong Province, as it attempts to curb its high crime rate. 
Three police officers were recently awarded 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) each after 
they shot dead a robbery suspect and caught two others. The three defied police 
warnings to stop and attempted to run away after they robbed a woman on a busy 
street. 
Zhang Guifang, deputy Party secretary of Guangzhou in charge of public 
security, praised the police and encouraged other officers to take aim when 
criminal suspects resist arrest. 
Most local residents believe the wider use of firearms would be a deterrent 
to potential criminals and would subsequently help to reduce the city's high 
crime rate. 
But legal experts and lawyers worry police might abuse their power while on 
duty. 
Liu Jianfu, an associate professor of Guangdong University of Foreign 
Studies, said police should be told clearly under what conditions they are to 
shoot, and be made aware they would have to accept any legal responsibility if 
they acted outside those boundaries. 
"Before they shoot they should also give a clear warning to the suspects," 
Liu said. 
He said in many foreign countries police can shoot when suspects have 
resisted arrest and have threatened people's lives and property. But Liu 
admitted allowing police to shoot more often might deter other suspects and help 
ensure a better social order. 
Wu Shenda, a local lawyer, hoped detailed guidelines and regulations would be 
released to guide the use of weapons. 
To help curb the high crime rate, Zhang Guifang has urged the police to take 
effective measures to fight crime, particularly robberies on the street. He also 
urged all of the public security departments in Guangzhou to establish 
plainclothes taskforces to stop robberies. 
"Police should use every means, including implementing a shooting policy, to 
fight crime," Zhang told a work conference on Tuesday. 
According to statistics from Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Public Security, 
two suspects have been shot dead by police, while another three were wounded 
when they resisted police arrest in Guangzhou since the start of the year. 
Zhang earlier promised Guangzhou's number of street robberies would be 
reduced this year. 
Guangzhou's crime rate has so far dropped by 1.8 per cent in the first three 
months, and in the same period, police handled 6,780 robberies and 12,000 
pickpocket cases. 
(China Daily 04/06/2006 page2)