Social control of public security in China

Author: Jin Qigao
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-07-01
Features: In a small-country traditional society that emphasizes human relationships, there has naturally been considerable attention paid to the study of crime and human relationships. Chinese legal history largely revolves around the history of combating crime. However, due to the ambiguity of traditional Chinese cultural thinking, over three millennia of Chinese civilization never developed criminology as a distinct field. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the term "criminology" disappeared from mainland China for 30 years, as the "Leftist" ideology turned the field into a no-man's-land. Following the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Party Congress, the era of scientific progress dawned, and criminology also experienced significant development. However, due to its late start, the current research level in criminology remains relatively low. To date, criminology in China, as well as in the West, has largely focused on micro-level, fragmented, and superficial studies, while macro-level, systematic, and in-depth exploration remains scarce, with truly comprehensive research yet to take shape.
In terms of the nature of its research subject—crime—the issue is indeed a "compendium," involving international, cross-border, and domestic aspects; history, reality, and the future; society, nature, and humanities. It is truly a "compendium." To address the causes, manifestations, and prevention of crime, it is necessary to approach the issue holistically, from all angles, and with the perspective of a compendium to find solutions.
In terms of the actual state of public security, as a social phenomenon and human behavior, crime will persist in large numbers and for a long time. National annual public opinion surveys show that corruption, inflation, and public security issues continue to trouble social development, economic security, and people's livelihoods. The essence of these three problems is crime: corruption is essentially official misconduct, inflation is essentially economic crime, and public security is essentially criminal crime.
In the current era, transnational crimes involving high technology, such as terrorism, organized crime, financial crime, cybercrime, biological crime, and atypical crimes, have emerged one after another and are growing increasingly rampant. Compiling the Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Criminology to analyze crime holistically, specifically, and deeply is an urgent need driven by the development of social practice and the creation of advanced culture. The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Criminology is a compendium of criminological research, with 100 specialized works expanding the encyclopedic treatises on crime-related issues to their maximum extent and forming an optimized organic system as a whole.
The compilation and publication of an encyclopedic work like the Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Criminology is an important sign of national academic development. The term "encyclopedia" originates from the Greek words enkyklios (all-around) and paideia (education), combining to mean "comprehensive education." In the 18th century, Enlightenment thinkers in France such as Diderot, Voltaire,, Holbach, and Rousseau used the Encyclopédie as a tool to promote new ideas and theories, earning high praise from Marx and Engels (Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Vol. 3, p. 395, People's Press, 1972 edition).
The compilation and publication of a comprehensive Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Criminology will undoubtedly have a profound and far-reaching impact on the development of criminology in China, and even on the development of international criminology. It will also make genuine and significant contributions to the practice of crime prevention.