Chinese police join Italian officers to patrol tourist hotspots in Rome and Milan
Teams will offer language and legal help to mainland visitors under landmark exchange between the two countries
Chinese police are patrolling the streets of Italy to protect mainland tourists as part of a groundbreaking programme – the first time China has sent officers to Europe to look after visitors there.
But under local law, the officers would have fairly circumscribed powers, according to an expert.
Four Chinese officers received special training in Beijing before their assignment, and spoke Italian as well as English, Xinhua reported. Each has been paired with a local partner and they have been deployed at the busiest tourist attractions in Rome and Milan.
It was the first time China had sent officers to Europe to protect tourists, Liao Jinrong, the head of international cooperation at the Ministry of Public Security, said during the launch of the programme in Rome.
The teams can offer language help and explain local laws and procedures to visitors who run into trouble.
Under local law, they should not be allowed to conduct arrests
Professor Simon Young Ngai-man, of the law faculty at the University of Hong Kong, said the Chinese officers might primarily serve as mediators alongside Italian officers. “But under local law, they should not be allowed to conduct arrests or searches or investigations without permission of the Italians,” he said.
The programme will run until May 13, and Italian police will head to Beijing and Shanghai to offer a similar service to Italian visitors in a few months.
About three million Chinese visit Italy every year, according to Beijing authorities, making the mainland the fourth biggest source of tourists for the southern European nation in 2014.
There have been media reports in recent years that thieves were increasingly targeting Chinese because they had a reputation for carrying more cash than other tourists.
Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said at the launch ceremony he expected to deepen law enforcement cooperation with China and expand the joint patrols to other Italian cities.
Similar initiatives had been rolled out by Italian police in cooperation with the United States, Poland and Spain during peak tourism seasons.
A plan to have Chinese police officers deployed in Paris was scrapped in 2014, reportedly over concerns they might have difficulty operating in a legal environment that was so different from the mainland’s.
Some also raised worries that the presence of foreign police forces in France might diminish national sovereignty and undermine people’s confidence in domestic law enforcement agencies.
Liao, of the Chinese ministry, said the latest move reflected mutual trust cultivated through past collaborations.
