The Ministry of Public Security issued a set of procedures on Tuesday for police handling non-criminal offences such as fist fights, drink driving, prostitution and drug taking.

It is encouraging to see that the ministry, the top police authority, is taking steps to curtail abuses of police powers in this area which previously had no uniform rules.

The newly-issued rules ban the use of torture, threats or deception in securing confessions and limits police departments' jurisdiction and terms of custody.

They also rule out on-the-spot fines in prostitution cases, which have often been used to extort money.

The strict procedures are likely to make it more difficult for the police to tackle offenders.

But the rules' disadvantages are outweighed by their far greater value in stopping police abuses and protecting civil rights.

The police are known for their bravery and sacrifice in fighting crime. But their practices in non-criminal cases have been widely criticized for irregularities such as corruption, unjust detention and fines.

Inadequate procedures and ignorance of existing ones among police have combined to create problems that, as senior officials of the Ministry of Public Security have admitted, have sapped the image of the police and the authority of law.

The ministry's new decree on non-criminal procedures gives extra strength to procedures, which have traditionally been overridden by the obsession with seeking the truth and imposing punishments.

The rules, together with existing procedures for criminal and administrative review cases, will influence the daily routines of police service.

This is a fair, albeit overdue, measure for every citizen who pays to support the public security agency.

It answers the public's growing demand for a better balance between public power and individual rights.

Hopefully the new rules will be implemented fully to clean up the police force.

(China Daily September 12, 2003)