Cool Fuzz

Goose-stepping goons, eager to haul prisoners off to bottomless dungeons, is what i usually think of when I think of Chinese Police. Of course this idea isn't helped by my knowledge of China's last 50 years of history and knowing that the Chinese police force, like many around the world, doesn't draw on the best and the brightest, but more of a brotherhood of would be thugs who turned better, but maybe not so far as good. This notion is one I try very hard to dissuade, because I've had nothing but (a limited) number of positive interactions with these men and women in blue.

One night, after the 'Roller Disco' - a night of roller skating, dancing, socializing and an open bar (all for about 20 bucks), we found ourselves out late further on the outskirts of the city than we normally do and a little more short on cash than we'd normally like. We weren't in a bad part of the city, far from it, but after an exhausting night of fun, we were a little wary of trekking around to find a 24 hour ATM to stock up on cash before our taxi ride home. We decided to ask the cops outside the disco where the nearest ATM was, and to our surprise they told us to hop in the back of the cab and we'd take them there. So, there I was with my two fellow discoers, riding in the back of a Shanghai cop car, being driven to an ATM by two really friendly police officers. The cynic out there might say they wanted to take us somewhere far from the city and shake us down for money, but that wasn't the case. They dropped us off at the ATM and only left once we'd returned outside and thanked them and had flagged a taxi. I can't imagine an officer in the US being so kind to some foreigners leaving a club.

So I try to be positive about the Chinese police. The most annoying thing I've noticed is that they always ride around with their lights flashing, always! Occasionally I'll hear about a foreigner who was assaulted by an off duty cop, then forced to pay reparations, and students will sometimes mention that the cops are not to be trusted, but my few experiences have been much more positive than others it seems. Life is certainly more relaxed when you can believe the police are on your side.