China says it has achieved a miraculously low-crime society
The truth is more complicated
ON SEPTEMBER 22nd, in the north-eastern city of Yanji, a police officer discovered that his pistol had gone missing. Lucky for him, the Chinese police control the world’s largest network of surveillance cameras. Video footage showed that the gun had been stolen at a vegetable market. The thief’s movements were traced to a rural county some 500km away. Dozens of officers were sent to arrest him. Within 24 hours of the theft the gun was recovered, according to state media.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Fuzzy numbers, safer streets”
From the November 25th 2023 edition
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