Crack unit makes a splash with new secret weapon to put the dampers on illegal street hawkers
Urban enforcers seek to soften their thuggish image by deploying water pistols in fight against illegal traders
Urban enforcement officials in central China have tried to soften their public image as rude and thuggish with the help of a new secret weapon – plastic water pistols.
A team of “chengguan”, or urban inspectors, operating in Changsha, Hunan province, have been photographed putting out illegal hawkers’ stoves with the vividly coloured toys.
Urban inspectors often have a poor public image and have been accused of using unwarranted violence when moving on street peddlers.
But Zou Junrong, the team leader of the water gun task force, told Changsha television he was looking for more “civilised” ways of operating.
Zou said in the past officers used to push over the vendors’ stoves and stamped out the fires, which was not only dangerous but also looked rude.