Italian cops return to Shanghai
TWO Italian police officers started their 12-day patrol of Shanghai with their Chinese colleagues on the Bund yesterday.
They are among the eight Italian cops who are to patrol the streets of four Chinese cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Xi’an — in a bilateral program to deepen cooperation between police in the two countries.
This is the second time Italian police officers are patrolling Shanghai streets — four officers were here in May of last year.
The two Italians will patrol with two Shanghai officers who speak Italian and English at landmarks around the city, including the Bund, Lujiazui and Yuyuan Garden, as well as at Metro stations such as People’s Square, Xujiahui and Pudong International Airport.
Their mission is to help address safety issues concerning Italian tourists and expats, while at the same time exchanging experiences in law enforcement with their Chinese counterparts.
They will not carry firearms or police weapons but will assist Chinese officers.
Fernando Giorgi, a police officer from Rome, is one of two Italians patroling Shanghai.
Regarding advice from his Italian colleagues who came to Shanghai last year, Giorgi said while smiling that he was cautioned about the city’s high summer temperatures.
Stefano Beltrame, Consul General of Italy in Shanghai, said the joint patrol last year was a surprise to many Italians living in Shanghai. There are about 3,500 of them at the moment.
“The first joint patrol has yielded a lot of positive reactions and results, and this is just the beginning of our international cooperation with the Chinese police,” he said.
Dong Bin, vice director of the Commanding Department of Shanghai Public Security Bureau, said Shanghai expects many tourists from Italy since it’s the high travel season and Shanghai is a popular destination.
Jamal Khan,
who
was strolling the Bund yesterday, said he found the joint patrol of Chinese and Italian police interesting.
“It’s good to see the police around, but Shanghai is generally a very safe place with very solid infrastructure like surveillance cameras and high technology such as facial recognition,” he said.
The joint police patrol program between China and Italy was introduced in 2016 and is reciprocal.