Shanghai now a safer city for expats and their families

Shanghai is now one of China’s safest cities due to a police crackdown on organised gangs.

A statement from the Shanghai police has revealed criminal cases and reported crimes are down by 34.4 per cent and 11.4 per cent respectively during 2019’s first four months. Police have been concentrating on organised criminal gangs as well as on government employees who’ve been protecting the groups.Between the start of the year and 20th May, 194 organised crime gangs have been taken down, over 1,500 suspects have been arrested and 405 outstanding criminal cases have been successfully closed. The majority of the crimes were connected with blackmail, loan sharking and the construction and transportation industries, and some $72 million has been recovered.

Due to the ongoing crackdowns, expats living and working in the mega-city are now far more satisfied with law enforcement and safety issues. Founder and director of the Stepping Stones charity Corinne Hua told local media she agrees the city is now far safer, adding that her local expat community can now allow their children the freedom to go out in the evening as it’s now safer than in big cities in their home countries. Her charity provides English language tuition for rural and migrant children and she’s been living in Shanghai for 25 years, so is in a good position to note the drop in burglaries and pickpocketing as well as other examples of organised crime.

The fall in Shanghai’s crime rates is especially welcome for expat professionals whose families came with them on relocation, although the presence of security guards, cameras and bag searches at Metro stations and other transport hubs tends to make newcomers uncomfortable until they get used to it. According to expats who regularly travel to other Chinese cities on business, the improvement of personal safety in Shanghai is obvious, but hasn’t been taken up in the majority of other Chinese destinations, especially its smaller towns.