The heightened security witnessed in Beijing during the Olympics will remain for the duration of the Paralympics, the city's public security bureau said yesterday.

"We will not lower any of the security standards put in place for the Olympics, but we do promise a people-oriented service," Cao Dongxiang, who is in charge of venue security, said at a press conference in Beijing.

"Our guiding principle will be to respect the independence and privacy of all disabled people," he said.

Experts from the China Disabled Persons' Federation have helped train security officers on how to deal with people with various disabilities, he said.

Also, every competition venue will have at least one entry channel that is wide enough to accept wheelchairs, he said.

However, Zhu Yijun, a senior official from the Beijing security command center, has requested all disabled spectators arrive at their venue security checks at least two hours ahead of the event's start time.

He had also some very specific advice for people with hearing difficulties.

"In a bid to improve efficiency, people who have cochlear implants should tell security staff in advance, and enter the venue through the disabled channel," he said.

"While the scale of the Paralympics is much smaller than the Olympics, the number of police on duty across the city will be the same," Zhu said.

More than 100,000 officers - including 1,000 in plainclothes - will be deployed, he said.

Security teams will be based at 17 competition venues, 29 training bases and 16 designated family hotels, he said.

About 4,500 athletes and coaches from 148 countries and regions will take part in the Games, and almost 4,000 journalists will cover the event, he said.

Meanwhile, Zhu also said yesterday that between July 1 and Aug 24, Beijing police cracked 930 street crime cases.

Over the same period, 1,000 people, including 40 foreigners, were questioned or arrested, he said. All of the foreigners had been either detained or deported.

He refused to reveal their nationalities or names.

"We did a good job during the Olympics, and we are confident of doing the same during the Paralympics," he said.

(China Daily September 3, 2008)