To Arrest or Not to Arrest? An Empirical Study of Policing Prostitution in China

• In Event: Courts and Gender Issues in a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Given the paucity of research on everyday policing in China, this article investigates how frontline police deal with mundane transgressions. Based on a provincial dataset of 23,575 prostitution penalty decisions in 2019, it appears that lighter penalties were imposed for prostitution occurring in entertainment venues than for infractions in other places. The leniency related to entertainment venues was significantly attenuated during the strike-hard campaign. Frontline police thus appear to adjust their punishment according to external pressure instead of engaging in a continuous crackdown on offenses for deterrence and social order. The findings enrich the understanding of crime fighting and the daily functions of the local state in China.

Authors

• Yu Zeng, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

• Zhiyuan DING, Chinese University of Hong Kong