Beijing steps up efforts against organized crime

Beijing prosecutors on Nov 4 pledged to increase efforts against organized crime to offer a greater sense of security for residents, even though they have seen achievements in this fight.

The Beijing People's Procuratorate announced that prosecutors across the capital have been approved to detain 1,121 people on suspicion of organized crimes by Wednesday. Among them, 506 have been taken to court.

"We were very careful in reviewing evidence and distinguishing organized crimes from other offenses in line with the law while receiving clues from police, as we must ensure the accuracy of each prosecution," Zhang Jun, a prosecutor from the city's top procuratorate, said at a news conference on Monday.

By strictly handling cases relating to organized crime, the prosecutors citywide have also paid greater attention to dealing with instances where some local officials provided protection for organized offenders, he said.

"We're also studying how to improve the efficiency of case handling to prevent some investigations or reviews from costing too much time," he said. "The quicker we smash the organized offenders, the safer environment our residents will have."

The Communist Party of China Central Committee, in conjunction with the State Council, launched a three-year campaign in January 2018 to crack down on organized crime. Since then Chinese judicial authorities, including procuratorates and courts, have marshalled resources to combat the offenses.