Problems and Countermeasures of Public Security Mediation in Rural areas

Public security mediation is an important mediation system with Chinese characteristics determined in the regulations on Public Security Administration penalties in 1987. The 2005 Public Security Administration punishment Law continues to recognize the legal status of this system. Today, this system has been implemented in our country for more than 20 years. In the past 20 years, under the framework of the legal system of public security mediation, public security organs have mediated and dealt with a large number of public security cases in time, resolved many social disputes, and played a positive role in preventing the intensification of social contradictions and maintaining social stability. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Public Security, from 2008 to 2013, the grass-roots public security organs across the country used public security mediation to deal with disputes they accepted accounted for 58%, public security penalties accounted for 33%, and converted into criminal cases accounted for 8% ①. It can be seen that public security mediation accounted for the majority. The statistics of the Ministry of Public Security fully show that public security mediation plays an important role in resolving social disputes, and it is a case-handling method commonly used by the grass-roots public security police.

However, because the public security police at the grass-roots level in rural areas are not very clear about the legal norms of public security mediation, they have different understandings of some legal terms, such as "civil disputes" and "minor circumstances" in the Public Security Administration punishment Law, which leads to the abuse of the right of public security mediation in practice. There are some problems, such as public security mediation instead of public security punishment, compulsory mediation, expanding the scope of mediation at will, and carrying out public security mediation beyond its functions and powers. The emergence of these problems has a negative effect on the abuse and deconstruction of the public security mediation system. therefore, it is necessary to continue to improve the relevant legal system and give full play to the positive role of public security mediation in rural dispute resolution and the construction of a new socialist countryside.

Legal Application of Public Security Mediation

As a mediation system, public security mediation is clearly stipulated in the Public Security Administration punishment Law on the scope of application of cases: "acts in violation of public security administration, such as fights or damage to other people's property caused by civil disputes, the circumstances are relatively minor." subsequently, the Public Security Administration punishment Law was detailed in the provisions on the procedure of Public Security organs handling Administrative cases issued by the Ministry of Public Security in 2006. Eight cases of "fights and damage to other people's property caused by civil disputes" are confirmed by enumerated way. they are assault, intentional injury, insult, slander, false accusation and frame-up, intentional damage to property, interference with other people's normal life, invasion of privacy and other cases. After the revision in 2012, the case of "illegal intrusion into other people's homes" was added. In addition, in 2006, the Ministry of Public Security issued "public security cases such as making noise, sending messages, raising animals to interfere with other people's normal lives, allowing animals to intimidate others, insult, slander, falsely accuse others, invade privacy, steal motor vehicles, and so on." public security organs can mediate and deal with them. " The above laws and regulations clearly define the scope of application of public security mediation, as well as the parties applicable to mediation. Public security organs apply public security mediation to relatives, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and students. It can also be applied between citizens and legal persons and other civil subjects in production and business activities. However, the provisions on the procedure of handling Administrative cases by Public Security organs, the provisions on Public Security Mediation of Public Security organs and the provisions of Public Security organs on handling injury cases also clearly stipulate that public security mediation is not applicable. Such as wounding people by hire, gang fights, gathering fights, injuring other people's bodies for many times, violating the management of public security for many times, the parties have made it clear that they do not mediate, and the parties have carried out acts against public order in the process of mediation, involving the nature of the underworld, and so on.

The above positive and negative provisions provide a complete legal basis for public security mediation. Public security organs, especially grass-roots public security organs, should strictly follow the provisions of laws and regulations in the application of public security mediation, especially in the application of rural disputes, otherwise it will lead to the abuse of public security mediation, which is not conducive to the maintenance of social stability and the resolution of contradictions and disputes.

The problems existing in the Application of Rural Public Security Mediation at present

The scope of application of public security mediation is constantly expanding. With the establishment and improvement of the 110 alarm mechanism, and the in-depth development of the mass line work in recent years, "finding the police with difficulties" has become the basic concept and behavior habits of many people. In this way, whenever the masses encounter difficulties, they will call the 110 police hotline, and the 110 command center will transfer the dispute to the grass-roots police station, which makes a large number of civil disputes become the targets of the police station. From the perspective of the application of the law, civil disputes are not within the jurisdiction of the police station, but if the 110 command center transfers the dispute to the police station, the police station must accept it. Therefore, the grass-roots public security organs not only have to deal with the contradictions and disputes caused by the violation of public security, but also need to spend a lot of energy to deal with civil disputes that do not fall within the jurisdiction, which adds great pressure to the police station. According to statistics from the Ministry of Public Security, 70% of the police force at the grass-roots police station in a rural area accepts civil disputes and relief activities reported to the police by the masses every day, seriously affecting the normal function of grass-roots public security organs in cracking down on crimes and maintaining public order. At the same time, ②, we should also see that according to the Public Security Administration punishment Law, police stations have no jurisdiction over general civil disputes that are not caused by violations of public order, forcibly intervene in mediation, lack of legal support, and the masses will not be convinced, resulting in the lack of legal effect of mediation and the suspicion of ultra vires law enforcement in rural grass-roots police stations.

I am not sure about the "degree" of public security mediation. Although the current laws and regulations make clear positive enumeration and negative exclusion of the scope and object of application of public security mediation, we should see that in recent years, the development of rural disputes has become increasingly complicated, and all kinds of new cases emerge one after another. is there an intermediate zone between legal affirmative enumeration and negative exclusion, such as violations of public order caused by disputes over land expropriation and demolition in rural areas? From the legal point of view, whether it belongs to the scope of public security mediation, it is difficult to define, when the dispute between farmers and demolition companies should belong to the scope of public security mediation, when the dispute between farmers and the government should not belong to the scope of public security mediation, therefore, the middle zone is difficult to grasp. In addition, for the issue of "plot" stipulated in laws and regulations, it is also a question of "degree". No matter whether the plot is relatively minor or minor, the level of development, lifestyle, and cultural traditions in rural areas are different. An act belongs to a lighter plot in one place, but it may be more serious in another rural area, and if it is not properly grasped in practice, the applicable effect of public security mediation will be greatly reduced.

The quality of some police officers is difficult to meet the requirements of mediation. At present, the social contradictions in rural areas are becoming more and more complex, and the types, forms and contents of disputes are also showing a trend of diversification and integration, which puts forward higher requirements for the quality of the police in charge of public security mediation. From the perspective of legal relations, rural public security disputes are a mixture of civil, administrative, economic and other legal relations. The purpose of public security mediation is to resolve disputes, therefore, public security mediation attaches great importance to the use of skills, strategies and laws and regulations, and mediation is more difficult. On the other hand, many police officers at grass-roots police stations, especially those in remote areas, do not have special technical training, or lack relevant legal knowledge, or lack mediation skills, or lack mass line experience, and so on, resulting in poor mediation results. According to the analysis data of the Ministry of Public Security on accepting complaints from the masses, the grass-roots police in rural areas have the highest complaint rate, accounting for 90%. Most farmers' complaints are due to the low quality of the police, rude attitude, lack of mediation experience, lack of mediation methods, and so on.

The procedure of mediation is complicated. The reason why mediation is mediation, rather than litigation, lies in its simple procedure, low requirements for evidence, and easy to be accepted by the masses. In the "Code for Public Security Mediation work of Public Security organs", the Ministry of Public Security clearly stipulates that for some cases with minor circumstances and clear facts that do not involve the payment of compensation, on-the-spot mediation can be carried out without making files. But in reality, many police complicate the mediation procedure, and many cases that could have been mediated on the spot do not carry out on-the-spot mediation; for many cases with clear facts and clear causality, the parties must be asked to provide proof. for the parties in rural areas, the reason why they choose mediation is that their ability of providing evidence is weak and their sense of evidence is not strong. ③ in practice, the complex mediation procedures stipulated by many rural grass-roots police stations will not only increase the burden of the police, but also not conducive to the application of public security mediation in rural disputes.

The legal effect of the public security mediation statement is low. The Public Security Administration punishment Law does not give the legal binding force of the public security mediation agreement, and there is no substantive restraint on both parties, even if there is a breach of promise, it will not bear any adverse consequences. In the public security disputes in rural areas, the phenomenon that the parties go back on their promises at will is more prominent, which leads to damage to the authority of the law. At the same time, it also prolongs the handling time of the police and increases the workload of the grass-roots police stations. In practice, many rural parties, who have backed out after the mediation agreement has been reached, generally require re-mediation or continue to carry out public security penalties. However, the public security mediation agreement is an agreement reached voluntarily by the parties, and its effect should be compared with that of the general civil contract. If the mediation agreement has been fulfilled, as far as the police station is concerned, the case has been closed and there can be no re-mediation or punishment. However, many farmers do not understand the provisions of the law, and if they do not meet their requirements, they will petition everywhere, causing a negative impact on social stability.