How a residential community drove out the criminals
Print Edition
THERE were 66 burglaries last year at Huatangyuan, an 1,800-household residential complex in southwest Shanghai. Since February, however, there have been none.
The same has been true at hundreds of other residential complexes in Minhang District, where the police have been working with property management companies and residents’ committees to improve security in old neighborhoods that are vulnerable to criminals.
A Huatangyuan resident surnamed Chen, who said she has lost four scooters parked downstairs to thieves, believes the improvement is largely attributable to the employment of professional security guards at the property.
“Some neighbors said they witnessed thieves taking stolen bikes through the gates while our [unlicensed] guards were sound asleep,” she told Shanghai Daily.
Unlicensed guards were not the only security weakness in residential complexes in the district, which has seen an influx of 1 million new tenants over the past 10 years. Other problems have included a shortage of surveillance cameras and inadequate walls around properties.
Property management companies were supposed to address the security problem, but many complained that it was financially difficult to do so because residents refused to pay their property management fees.
But then the situation changed: Huatangyuan’s property management company, Chunhui, was fined 20,000 yuan (US$3,000).
Wu Peiquan, a 51-year-old police officer who has been working in Huatangyuan on and off for over 10 years, explains: “I fined them for employing unlicensed guards, which violated the rules on safety management at properties because I had had enough of their refusal to heed my warnings,” said Wu, better known as “Baldhead.”
Wu was not alone in pushing for change. The local government and the residents’ committee also started to take proactive roles in establishing a mechanism for handling public interest matters.
“We realized that if we didn’t take a step forward, we would sooner or later be driven out by the residents, just like three of our predecessors,” said Liu Ruying, Huatangyuan’s property manager, who has been working there for six years.
Now, with 107 surveillance cameras installed across the property, better access control systems, bladed fences and professional guards, everyone feels safer.
Liu estimated that 95 percent of the households will pay their property management fees by the end of the year, up from less than 40 percent last year.
The residents, who currently pay 0.55 yuan per square meter per month, have also agreed to pay up to 50 percent more starting from next year.
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