Some people think that rewarding volunteer thief catchers reflects nonfeasance and inaction on the part of the police and relevant government departments, which is not the case. Society is very complicated and villains are not easily distinguished merely from appearance. Illegal acts can only be detected when they happen. Moreover, the number of police officers relative to the population is far from enough. It is impossible for them to patrol frequently enough to prevent all potential crimes. Heroic actions by citizens are an effective way to supplement formal law enforcement.

In our increasingly utilitarian and pragmatic society, volunteer heroes are becoming fewer. Police authorities have to adopt measures to reward volunteer thief catchers. This method actually creates a positive social climate and serves as a corrective to our temporal values. At the same time, it can be regarded as the Sword of Damocles hanging over denizens of the underworld. When criminal offenses occur, all citizens cooperate together to fight against them. Who dares to challenge the force of the public?

Yang Zhiguang (Beijing Morning Post): Struggling against criminal acts to protect individuals' legitimate rights from being violated is citizens' moral obligation, but not their legal responsibility. It is necessary to give them some money, not only as a reward, but as compensation for the effort they have made. Under certain circumstances, monetary rewards may be appropriate to assist investigation of criminal cases. This method can support insufficient police forces on the one hand, and crack cases efficiently on the other hand.

Leave it to the police

Yang Tao (Shanghai Morning Post): What I'm worried about is, once the practice of rewarding volunteer thief catchers is considered effective and becomes more widespread, the police might transfer their duty to the public.

My worry is not groundless. In Shaodong County, Hunan Province, encouraged by a similar reward policy, a group of "full-time thief catchers," mainly army veterans and autobike drivers, has appeared. In 2008, they were responsible for a quarter of the local arrests for theft. This is a big achievement, but on the other hand, it reflects the low efficiency of local police officers.

Besides, police officers, who are thief catchers in the real sense, have the necessary equipment as well as the legitimate power to arrest and detain thieves, while ordinary citizens sometimes risk their lives fighting criminals because they lack the necessary weapons. If we depend too much on volunteer thief catchers, we are very likely to see even loss of life among ordinary citizens.

Some people think that since many thieves have been caught by ordinary citizens motivated by reward money, the cost is worth it. But why can't police officers, who receive much more input from the government, act as effectively?

Wang Yi (www.cnhan.com): By no means should we expect ordinary citizens to replace police officers, who are professionally trained in dealing with criminals.

More importantly, when the public is encouraged to catch thieves, the police might let them take too many risks, because catching thieves is a dangerous job for ordinary people who have not had special training in this regard. What if they get hurt while struggling with thieves? Furthermore, ordinary citizens do not have the legal authority to arrest thieves. If they injure the thieves, who should be held responsible? These risks are the hidden danger behind this policy.

Ma Qingzheng (Hebei Youth Daily): Thief catching is essentially a matter of social morality and righteousness; the incentive mechanism is irrelevant. If we cultivate a society that tolerates no crime, I believe the public will enthusiastically take actions against criminals even without a cash incentive.

Thief catching is a moral obligation, not a legal one. Police officers have unavoidable responsibility for the maintenance of social order, including things like catching thieves, since the public generally speaking is not strong enough to deal with the violence.

Zha Jun (Yangcheng Evening News): Why does the government have so many departments? Because every department is asked to take special responsibility in certain areas. The rampancy of thieves means that public order is under threat, and thus the local police must take the responsibility of catching thieves. However, in recent years some local governments have come to rely more on the public for settling problems. If well-armed police officers are unable to prevent theft, how can we expect barehanded ordinary people to deal with it?

Sun Chen (Yanzhao Evening News): People's values in life are being subtly transformed by the profit-driven market economy and their eagerness for money is increasing.

When local authorities give rewards for catching thieves, it implies that people were indifferent about catching thieves in the past and are doing so now only because of monetary rewards. Following that logic, since people catch thieves for the sake of money, rather than because it's the right thing to do so, then we have reason to believe that if thieves give ordinary citizens even more money, they will stop pursuing thieves and even cooperate with them.

To maintain sound public order, we need the involvement of the public. However, the safety network is based on citizens' sense of responsibility. If we pin our hopes on cash incentives, not only will the problem of crime remain unsolved, but social values will deteriorate as well. The policy to reward volunteer thief catchers is an example of meeting an immediate need at the expense of society's long-term interests.