China outlines range of duties for its notoriously violent ‘urban enforcers’
The ‘chengguan’ enforce local by-laws, but some have a reputation for using excessive force
China’s government has set out the suggested range of duties to be carried out by the nation’s urban enforcement officers, or chengguan, notorious for their sometimes violent and heavy-handed treatment of minor offenders such as illegal street hawkers.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has proposed that the officers who enforce local by-laws should cover six main areas, the Beijing Times reported.
These include enforcing regulations on parking, noise pollution in residential areas and serving food in public areas.
The proposals have now been put out for public consultation, according to the article.
Luo Yameng, the director of the China Urban Management Association, was quoted as saying that the plans were a way of formalising the role of the officers across the country.