City’s points system for dog owners worth emulating by others

SINCE LAST YEAR, Jinan, capital of East China’s Shandong province, has introduced a system that gives every dog owner 12 points and authorizes the police to deduct them when the dog owner breaks related regulations. Legal Daily comments:

One year has passed and the local police of Jinan have publicized data on the points reductions receive by dog owners. A total of 1,430 dog owners have been punished for dog-related activities, of which 122 have lost all 12 points and were required to attend lectures and take exams before getting a fresh set of points.

The public also seems satisfied. The number of complaints against dog owners has dropped significantly, while surveys show they are more satisfied with dog owners who live in their neighborhoods.

By introducing the point system, Jinan has set a good example for other cities nationwide to follow. But if any city hopes to copy the points system, it might need to notice some detailed measures taken by Jinan.

First, Jinan has divided the city into “key zones” and “general zones” and paid more attention to the former, where residents have issued more complaints.

Second, Jinan has introduced a regulation that clearly states that the police should be responsible for regulating dog owners in the city, while other departments and veterinary agencies should cooperate. With the power and responsibility clearly defined, the police have to do their job.

Third, Jinan has applied new technologies to the task. Jinan police have developed an app that summarizes all the available information about registered dogs and their owners. When a police officer finds a dog owner has broken a relevant regulation, all they need is to get his/her ID number, then all the information about him/her and the dog will appear on the police officer’s smartphone.

It is these measures that have helped to make the regulation in Jinan so effective. The key lies not only in drafting regulations, but also making their clauses executable so that they avoid being effective only on paper.