New force set up to protect schoolchildren

By Du Guodong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-10 07:56

A special force trained by police will soon start protecting Beijing's 1.4 million schoolchildren, following several horrific attacks on students recently.

Its personnel will be sent to kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools at the completion of their training, Beijing municipal public security bureau said. They will wear special uniforms.

The force is a joint initiative of the police and education department as part of an effective long-term mechanism to ease mounting anxieties about safety in schools.

Fu Zhenghua, director of Beijing police department, said during a security conference on Saturday that a variety of methods, including the special force, will be developed to protect the city's schoolchildren.

Police said they are considering connecting schools' video surveillance equipment with the police system.

In addition, they plan to crack down on criminal activities near schools, targeting nearby markets and Internet cafes.

District security bureaus will also work closely with the education department on all aspects of school security.

After several attacks on children in schools, especially in southern China, the government has moved to boost security as a priority.

During the May holidays in Beijing, police provided school guards - most of whom are employed by the school - with equipment including vests that resist stabbing, pepper sprays and steel forks.

Lectures on security precautions were also delivered to schools.

"The equipment would effectively deter attacks on schoolchildren," Wang Hui, a police officer with Xicheng district security bureau, was quoted as saying during an interview with Beijing News.

The department now requires schools to report security problems on a daily basis.

In addition, about 7,000 police officers patrol outside schools when students are arriving and leaving.

Tian Yuzhou, a primary student at Chaoyang Foreign Language School, said that after school, teachers and other staff would accompany them to the gate and pass them to their parents. Parents are now issued with special credentials by the school.

"My everyday life is basically the same, but the only difference is there is more inconvenience now," Tian said. But his mother Tian Chongjin disagrees.

"It is a good method to deter villains and protect the school. But I wonder how long these measures will last?" she said.