7. An Overview of Police Offi cers’ Views on Public Order in China, 2008–2009

Police officers' overall evaluation of China's social conditions in 2008 remained much the same as for 2007, with a high evaluation of China's current social conditions and high expectations for the future situation. The outsized income differential and the polarisation of rich and poor, employment and unemployment and embezzlement and corruption were considered the three issues which most influence social stability. Food safety also ranked highly in popular evaluations of their sense of safety, and in hidden dangers to public safety. The degree of popular satisfaction and sense of safety are important means of estimating the level of social order. The quantity of cases reported to public security bodies allows an assessment of two issues, namely social order conditions, and the workload placed on the public security bodies. Keywords: China; employment; food safety; police officers; public security; unemployment