NCJ Number
80924
Date Published
1981
Length
24 pages
Annotation
The system of urban social controls in China and its apparent effect in fostering public order and preventing crime are examined, largely using information from interviews conducted in Hong Kong with former residents of China who had left between 1972 and 1978.
Abstract
In China, there is a system of urban household registration that is perhaps more restrictive than any in the world. Persons living in rural areas, towns, or even important cities cannot move and establish residence in a larger urban area unless they have been assigned there for schooling or employment. China's urban areas thus do not have a large underclass of employed persons for whom crime might constitute an alternative livelihood. Further, bureaucratic control over housing and jobs influences families to remain in the same residence for long periods. Urban life is organized by the work unit and the neighborhood. The work unit supervises the activities of its employees on the job. General problems of living are also referred to the work unit for assistance and regulation, even in determining the number of children a family should have. Neighborhoods are rigidly organized, and social control is a primary responsibility of these organizations. Residents have assignments designed to prevent crime and assist the police in solving crimes. Ex-offenders returned from prison to the community are closely watched and supervised by their work units and neighborhood groups. It is thus through heavy restrictions and an absence of priority for privacy that fosters effective social control and public order in China. Such a system would not be tolerated in the United States, where freedom of movement and privacy have high priority. Twenty-two references are provided.