Policing in the Macau special administrative region: Issues and challenges

Macau has been under the Portuguese administration for more than 400 years. Prior to 1999, the criminal justice system basically inherited the key features of continental system, including two independent law enforcement agencies, the Judiciary Police and the Public Security Police. The expatriate commanders drawn from military and legal professions headed the local Chinese rank-and-file in both forces. Portuguese was the working language adopted in operations. The police agencies were generally doubted by the public for their capacity and professionalism. It saw the Macau Special Administrative Region Government have taken active steps to improve public trust towards the police after its reunion with China, as part of the government legitimization blueprint. Organizational and managerial reforms to both the police forces were introduced, while a series of community policing initiatives were launched in attempt to change the segregation between the police and community during the colonial era. This chapter will examine the transformation of policing in the eve of 20 anniversaries of MSAR, and provide a primary assessment on the effectiveness of these reform initiatives. Copyright © 2020 selection and editorial matter, Meng U Ieong; individual chapters, the contributors.