Urbanization and inevitable migration

One country, three populations: Trust in police among migrants, villagers, and urbanites in China

“…According to official statistics, in two of the major migrant destination cities, Guangzhou and Shanghai, migrant workers accounted for over 90% of police arrests in 2000 and 76% of the arrests in 2007, respectively (Xu, 2013). Urban migrant workers are also more likely than local residents to be crime victims.…”

“…One such challenge is the emergence and formation of a massive rural-to-urban migrant population since the 1980s. Urban migrant workers have grown unprecedentedly from 2 million in 1980 to nearly 160 million in 2011 (Xu, 2013), a size roughly equivalent to half of the entire US population. The massing of farmer workers in cities, especially along the coastal areas, and the lack of adequate policies and programs in education, public housing, health care, social security, and work safety have created numerous social problems in urban China (Solinger, 1999).…”

“…The lack of urban hukou, however, prohibits these ''different-place people'' and their children from receiving social welfare, such as housing, medical care, and education. Urban migrant workers are also heavily involved in the criminal justice system as both offenders and victims (Xu, 2013). Not surprisingly, migrant workers are perceived and treated as ''second-class'' and even ''dangerous'' citizens in China (Han, 2010;Solinger, 1999;Xu, 2013).…”

“…Urban migrant workers are also heavily involved in the criminal justice system as both offenders and victims (Xu, 2013). Not surprisingly, migrant workers are perceived and treated as ''second-class'' and even ''dangerous'' citizens in China (Han, 2010;Solinger, 1999;Xu, 2013). The hukou system, the vast rural-urban migration, and the discrimination against migrant workers have expanded China's urban and rural populations into three different groups of citizens (i.e.…”

“…Similarly, despite a growing amount of scholarly attention to public perceptions of the police, rural peasants and urban migrants in China have been severely underrepresented in the same vein of inquiry. Given the widespread uprising in the rural areas (Bernstein and Lu, 2003) and the unequal treatments of migrant workers by local authorities (Xu, 2013), these disadvantaged groups' prevalent patterns of attitudes toward the police may be significantly different from that of more advantaged, urban residents.…”