Beijing cops busted 87 criminal cases due to tip-offs delivered via a mobile application in April, city officials announced Tuesday.
The Chaoyang Qunzhong app, the name of which can be translated as "the masses of Chaoyang district," has over 60,000 registered users who submitted a total of 2,000 tips in April, an official from Beijing's comprehensive management office for public security said at a Tuesday press conference, the Beijing Morning Post reported.
Chaoyang police investigated 400 of the leads provided by the Chaoyang Qunzhong app in April which led to the arrest of 25 criminal suspects and the issuance of three fines, according to the Beijing Morning Post.
The app was officially launched on March 31 by Beijing's Municipal Public Security Bureau, according to the bureau's website.
While most tip-offs previously came from seniors, the app is now widely used by both young and elderly local residents, the report said.
Officials also mentioned at the press conference that more than 130,000 Chaoyang residents have registered as social order maintenance volunteers. They also said that besides the users of the app, around 60,000 tipsters provide an average of about 20,000 clues every month on crimes such as drugs, terrorism, prostitution, fraud and theft.
In recent years, the authorities have thanked the "Chaoyang masses" for providing tips that landed celebrities in hot water for drug use and prostitution, such as the case of actor Wang Xuebing who was arrested in 2015 on drugs charges.
Netizens have joked that the Chaoyang masses are one of the world's biggest intelligence agencies.
