The origin of the word public safety

The word public security has long existed. It originated from the Public Security Committee during the French Revolution, and it was an institution that held the power of life and death. The name Public Security Bureau was also used during the Kuomintang period. Zhu De was the director of Nanchang Public Security Bureau during the Nanchang Uprising.

Public security is the abbreviation of public security. The public security organs in China are not only responsible for fighting crime, but also for public security-related affairs, such as household registration, fire control, entry and exit, etc. The Ministry of Public Security in China is equivalent to the Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of the Interior in some countries, which is why the Ministry of Public Security cannot be called the Police Department. Therefore, it is more scientific to call the cadres of public security organs public security personnel in China.

Some countries are different from ours. For example, there is no federal police agency in the United States, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Central Ministry of Justice is responsible for major criminal and political cases nationwide. States divide public security affairs into police, fire control, immigration, firearms and drug management departments, so the word public security is not used. Instead, federal investigators (agents), police, immigration officials, firefighters and so on.

Another example is France, which has a post of police chief under the Ministry of the Interior, and is responsible for the operation of the national police in public security affairs. This is obviously separated from other public security work.