Police in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province, patrol a night market on July 5, 2022, as part of the Public Security Ministry's 100-day campaign to crack down on gang crimes. (Photo: CFP)

The sense of security among Chinese people increased to 98.62 percent in 2021, the highest level in a decade, and China is widely regarded by the international community as one of the safest countries in the world, the Ministry of Public Security stated on Monday.

The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a press conference on the theme of "China in the Past Decade" on Monday, introducing the achievements of the public security organs in promoting the achievement of a greater level of peace in China.

During the conference, Sun Maoli, member of the Party committee of the Ministry of Public Security, reported that since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, public security organs across the country have stepped up efforts to build a safer China, making social governance more socialized, law-based, intelligent and professional, and constantly increasing the people's sense of gain, happiness and security.

People's sense of security increased from 87.55 percent in 2012 to 98.62 percent in 2021, Sun noted.

Sun said that in recent years, with the rapid development of the information society, significant changes have taken place in the structure of crimes. New types of criminal networks, represented by crimes involving telecom network fraud, have become the most mainstream form of crime, especially under the current COVID-19 epidemic situation, Sun noted.

China has worked hard to overcome these difficulties and sent teams to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other regions to carry out international law enforcement cooperation. Nearly 1,000 suspects have been repatriated, effectively deterring overseas fraud groups, Sun said.

Recently, the case of an assault against several women at a barbecue restaurant in Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, made headlines across China, sparking public concern over personal safety. Liu Zhongyi, director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, noted on Monday that the case had caused widespread concern.

"The Ministry of Public Security attaches great importance to the case. It immediately dispatched a working group and experts from all across the country to guide the investigation. The investigation is progressing smoothly, and details will be released to the public," Liu noted.

Liu said that so far, criminal investigation departments have solved 49,000 criminal cases and arrested 72,000 suspects during a 100-day campaign to crack down on issues threatening public security, a campaign that started over the summer, effectively safeguarding public security.

Liu's remarks can dispel public concerns and rumors at home and abroad, observers said, after the Tangshan incident came into focus.

Since the regular operation targeting gang-related crimes, public security organs have cracked down on 249 gang-related organizations and 1,486 criminal groups, and they have arrested 22,000 criminal suspects, the conference reported.