Zhangjiagang’s Development under the Rule of Law

At the first session of the Zhangjiagang Public Security Bureau's Communist Party Committee this year， the discussion was dedicated to the development of public security under the rule of law. "This year， we will build on the titles of 'National Public Security Model Unit' and 'National Public Security Model' won by our Law Enforcement Brigade， and break new ground in promoting high-quality development，"said Qian Fei， vice mayor of Zhangjiagang and director of the city's public security bureau.

Favorable Environment for Enterprise

"We chose Zhangjiagang because of its sound business environment，"said Miao Hangen， chairman of Shenghong Holding Group， explaining why his company set up in the city in Jiangsu province. Thanks to the business environment assured by the Law Enforcement Brigade of the Zhangjiagang Public Security Bureau， 100 major projects amounting to a total investment of CNY 59.72 billion have been implemented in the city in 2023 so far.

"Under the supervision and guidance of the local public security authorities and ecological and environmental protection departments， relevant enterprises have eradicated the consequences inflicted by environmentally hazardous practices. Since there are many employees with disabilities， we should now give more priority to the enterprises' sustainability and the livelihood of their employees，"said Chen Xiaobing， a law enforcement officer at Zhangjiagang Public Security Bureau， when informing the Zhangjiagang People's Procuratorate about how to launch a corporate compliance process based on a "two-way engagement"mechanism. "Corporate compliance refers to a deferred and lenient criminal penalty system where non-custodial but coercive measures are introduced to urge the companies concerned to make a pledge for compliance and correction. After full consideration of their criminal severity and implementation of corrective actions， we should impose mitigated punishments for or give probation to those eligible in the presence of extenuating circumstances，"explained Qian Zhongming， deputy director of the Law Enforcement Brigade.

Besides encouraging voluntary surrender， offering leniency to first-time or casual offenders， and promoting guilty pleas， the brigade also works to minimize the repercussions of business-related crimes in its corporate compliance operations by making a clear distinction between law-abiding businesses and the unlawful acts of their employees.

"We won't allow a whole enterprise to be incriminated by a single offender in it，"said Xu Gaofeng， executive deputy secretary of the Zhangjiagang Municipal Committee for Political and Legal Affairs， adding that the "two-way engagement"mechanism will help build a legal environment that encourages the enterprising spirit and establish modern management systems.

A salient feature of the revised Administrative Penalties Law is a provision that states， "first and minor offences are not subject to penalty".Officers with the Zhangjiagang Public Security Bureau are committed to fully understanding the legislative rationale and using it to guide their law enforcement operations.

Last December， the North City Police Station discovered that an enterprise had somehow failed to file the information on its purchase and use of dangerous chemicals.  The brigade immediately determined there were safety risks in the company's management structure.

By law，  this offence is punishable by a fine of up to CNY10，000. However， in line with the Guidelines for Handling Corporate Administrative Compliance Cases with Leniency， the enforcement officers decided to provide guidance and training on how to establish a safety management system， after the company had acknowledged its mistakes and committed to immediate rectification and an appropriate management system. After reviewing the company's performance later， the officers eventually dropped the fine.

The Guidelines has given more scope to the provision that "first and minor offences are not punishable"to cover business-related crimes. By itemizing applicable cases and standardizing operation procedures， it offers front-line enforcement officers feasible standards for implementing corporate administrative compliance.

Human-centered Law Enforcement

On average， the Zhangjiagang Public Security Bureau receives 290，000 police calls， investigates over 8，000 criminal cases， and handles over 30，000 administrative cases each year.

Five years ago， after deep research， the brigade launched a one-stop and fast-track mechanism to address criminal cases in an "intensive， professional and prompt"manner by integrating the public security force， procuratorate， people's court， and judicial bureau. The integrated mechanism has streamlined case-handling—from 12 steps previously to three now—and reduced case processing times by more than two thirds. It has been highly acclaimed and widely promoted by the Ministry of Public Security as an "exemplary law enforcement system for all public security organs nationwide".

According to Ji Guofeng， director of the brigade， "although a comprehensive mechanism is in place to handle criminal cases， there is still much room for improvement in administrative enforcement."Last October， drawing on the chapter on law-based governance in the Communist Party of China's 20th National Congress report， he had an idea： Expand the "Speedy Administrative Ruling"smart phone app to cover more administrative cases.