Zhang Linghe is still tortured by memories of the kidnapping of a high-school girl four years ago. At the time, Zhang, a soldier-turned-policeman arrived on the scene to encounter a knife-wielding man who was threatening to cut the girl's throat. When the criminal asked for a mobile phone and a car, Zhang obliged him, but that didn't stop the suspect from killing her before fleeing.

 

Zhang, armed with nothing but a truncheon, could do little to stop him. He still wishes he had been armed with a gun. The experience made him a strong supporter of a Shanghai policy launched on April 20, which has armed around 1,000 police for round-the-clock patrols. 

 

They are required to arrive at the scene within three to five minutes if any emergency incident occurs which threatens the lives of residents or is a threat to public security. 

 

The violent terrorist attack at a train station in Kunming, Yunnan Province, in early March, in which eight knife-wielding attackers killed 29 people, raised public fears about the ability of public security departments to deal with violent criminals.

 

The Ministry of Public Security then announced on March 16 that armed patrols across the country should be intensified.

 

As several cities have started to implement the policy, issues regarding the training of police officers and gun control have emerged. 

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