Shanghai police use WeChat to fight crime

Police in Shanghai's Changning and Minhang districts are turning to WeChat to help combat shoplifting.

Thanks to officers and shop owners swapping pictures of suspects via the program, the number of related crimes has fallen dramatically.

Between December 21-27 last year, police handled 74 theft cases in Qibao, Minhang. After the trial started, from February 15-21, the number dropped to six, and from April 5-11 it fell to zero.

"All we do is swap pictures," said Peng Changlin, a police officer in Changning's Tianshan area who formed the WeChat group. In Qibao, the group has 50 members who all share the information about thieves, Peng said.

Cheng Lixin, a supermarket director, said she caught a shoplifter in March, thanks to a picture shared by Peng.

Before WeChat the transfer of information was slow and crooks frequently escaped, shop owners said.