Police department of Shenzhe, Guangdong Province, ?has deployed more than half its personnel to patrol the city's streets and communities as part of a reform implemented Saturday.

Before the reform took place, the city's police were divided into different squads, with only a small number of them patrolling the streets. This has resulted in low effectiveness in combating crimes and responding to reports from residents.

The reform has reinforced frontline police deployment by combining the community squads, social security squads and patrol squads. All the city's 115 police stations completed the shakeup Saturday, which has enabled policemen to respond more quickly.

The number of policemen patrolling the Huaqiangbei shopping area increased from about 20 to 35 after the reform. Only 80 complaints were filed Saturday, as compared to an average of more than 100 each day before the reform, the Yuanling Police Station said.

This marked another bold attempt by the police to make the city a safer place after residents complained of a high incidence of crimes, especially robbery and burglary, amid a rapid growth of migrant population.

The police announced last Friday that they had busted 63 criminal gangs in a month since a citywide campaign targeting pickpockets and robbers was launched February 27.

More than half of the gangs were rounded up when trying to commit crimes on buses and at bus stations, while the others were caught in commercial areas and parks. Some 670 suspects were arrested with stolen goods worth 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) confiscated, according to Qian Wei, a police spokesman.

"Shortly after the Chinese New Year, stealing and robbery cases soared in Shenzhen. So the police launched this two-month campaign. Now the situation has been much improved," said Qian.

Most of the criminal gangs were well organized and had set up complete networks of theft, robbery and selling ill-gotten goods. Many had account books recording the sales, which provided evidence for their crimes.

"Fourteen public transport companies in Shenzhen have organized special teams targeting pickpockets. These teams were trained by the police and cooperate with policemen in keeping public order. Such forces might be the first of its kind in China and have set up an example for pickpocket crackdown," he said.

He also said that the police are in the process of installing digital cameras on buses. By the end of June, 8,500 buses in the city will be equipped with cameras, which will help reduce crimes onboard buses.

(Shenzhen Daily April 3, 2006)