Ma Zhenchuan, former Director of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, said that some problematic regulations could hamper a quick and correct police response to a crime.

Ma cited the Kunming terrorist attack in March. "In that case, the police officer who finally shot four criminals dead had no right to open fire until the command center authorized him. Our regulations should have given him clear guidance to decide on the spot," Ma said.

Yu Lingyun, a professor at the School of Law of Tsinghua University, warned that making a decision under pressure while considering all of the provisions would be too difficult.

Yu said making the correct snap decision in a threatening situation requires long-term and stringent training. "[The skill] requires combining aspects of techniques, laws, and mentality," Yu said.

In early April, the MPS launched a special training program on firearms usage to all security forces in the country to strengthen their ability to handle incidents.

The training mainly focused on policemen who patrol streets and handle emergencies in big cities and county-level regions. It also provided teaching on the laws as well as training in actual combat skills.

About 10,000 trainers taught qualified officers to use firearms, with each county-level region having three trainers on average.

The ministry also stressed that public security organs at all levels should establish rules and regulations on routine exercises and set-term intensified training, establish standardized long-term training mechanisms and strive to improve officers' practical skills.

Tight supervision

On May 29, five people were injured after a police officer's gun was fired accidentally during a security training session in a kindergarten in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province.

The bullet hit the ground, spraying shrapnel at the arms and legs of four parents and one child.

"The case reveals the policeman didn't know how to handle his weapon, a common problem among many Chinese officers," commented Pi Yijun, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

Compared to the as-yet minimally trained officers, cases involving lax management of police firearms have triggered greater public concerns.

In May alone, the media reported at least three cases of missing police firearms. Though all the officers involved in the cases reportedly have been sacked or punished, the backlash is evident.

In addition, the legality of gun use by police officers in some scenarios has been widely questioned.

On May 30, a police officer who was alleged to be drunk shot and killed a villager during a local dispute in Qujing City in Yunnan. An internal investigation concluded the gun went off by accident and that the officer was sober at the time.

On the same day, an officer in Sansui County in southwest China's Guizhou Province shot dead a drunken man who was threatening to hurt the drunk man's wife.

To ensure safety and prevent abuse, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau has issued specific regulations on how to retrieve, holster, use and return guns for the police.

"For example, officers must write a report if a gun is drawn, no matter whether it is fired or not," said Rui with the bureau.

According to the regulations, immediately after using a gun, an officer has to make a verbal report to the command center and complete a detailed written report within six hours.

If there are casualties, the officer also needs to specify what he sees and hears before firing, what warnings he gives, how many shots are fired and the distance between him and the suspects.

As a regulated process, police tutors and psychologists will be arranged to evaluate the ability of officers before they are armed, according to the MPS. There will also be personnel files and counseling sessions as part of the evaluation, it said. Officers will also attend counseling sessions after opening fire on suspects.

Qu Xinjiu, Dean of the Criminal Justice College of the China University of Political Science and Law, urged prosecutors to supervise the police force's use of firearms and step in when the public demands an impartial review of a shooting case.

"A procurator's office should draw its own conclusion from independent investigations on whether the police's gunshots were legitimate, justified or abusive," Qu said.

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