Crimes in Beijing hospitals drop sharply

The number of crimes committed in Beijing hospitals has steadily declined since the capital's regulations on public security management took effect in July last year.

The number of criminal cases in the past year dipped by 65 percent from the previous year, the city's public security bureau said on Wednesday.

From July last year to the end of June this year, the Beijing Public Security Bureau had handled 74 medical-related crimes and investigated 77 suspects, a steady decline compared with the same period last year, said Wang Yalin, chief of the medical brigade of the Internal Security Bureau of Beijing's Municipal Public Security Bureau.

As of July, 262 hospitals in Beijing had installed "one-click" alarm devices, 86 hospitals were equipped with facial recognition systems and 285 hospitals in Beijing has set up a police room to guarantee intelligent and precise early warnings for hospital safety and order, the city's health commission said on Wednesday.

At Beijing's Tiantan Hospital of Capital Medical University, 1,664 prohibited items were examined since the effective date of the regulations, of which 1,457 items were restricted — mainly fruit knives and folding knives, said Chao Yangyun, vice-president of the hospital, who added that 657 "one-click" alarm devices installed in the hospital were pressed more than 100 times over the past year.

"We have a stronger sense of security after the regulation took effect," said Zhang Tao, assistant researcher in the doctor-patient dispute office at Beijing Tiantan. "Staff members in the medical dispute office help solve safety problems, and our security guards conduct 24-hour security inspections."