Nordic Police and Customs officer Mia Poutanen talks about Beijing’s street picture and her work in China in a recent blog post on the Finnish police blog.
Mia Poutanen started her new job as a Nordic Police and Customs Liaison Officer (PTN) at the Embassy of Finland in Beijing in July and after a couple of months in the big city, the perception of the operating environment is gradually beginning to take shape, she says.
Surveillance cameras are everywhere in Beijing and everyone knows that control is being done and technology is being utilized. “Perhaps that is why street crimes such as robberies, assaults, and traditional property crimes, such as bicycle theft, are quite rare. Street safety (a term we use in Finland) is at a high level here. It is safe to move outside, even in the smallest alleys, whether it is night or day,” Mia Poutanen says.
She also mentions that in the eyes of the police, it’s particularly striking to see the control being displayed. “There are police cars on the corners of the streets or small booths with separate Police signs, mobile offices. It seems that almost every block, or at least every neighborhood, has its own small police station. On the other hand, I have not seen or heard any police cars on alert. And police officers dressed in riot gear are not seen on the streets in the same way as in the streetscape of many other big cities,” she says.
Mia’s purpose as a police liaison officer is to support the international activities of the Finnish police and national crime prevention. Liaison officers are placed in the most important foreign destinations or areas for Finland’s internal security and the primary task is to provide information on the general crime situation in Finland, which is important for the image of the situation and fight against national crime in Finland. In Mia’s case, related to individual crimes, types of crimes, perpetrators, and best practices.
Read much more about Mia Poutanen’s work and experience in Beijing so far here
