Local police in a city in Central China's Henan Province are encouraging the public to catch thieves by offering rewards of between 500 to 5000 Yuan, or some 70 to 700 US dollars.

Some people regard this policy as a win-win situation, because the police can improve their efficiency while the public can gain considerable rewards.

However, an article in the 'Beijing News' says that using the public as a part of the police force to catch thieves is ill-conceived.

The article says, on one hand, members of the public have not been trained to catch thieves so they could be in danger if the thief resists arrest.

On the other hand, such a big reward may lead some people to make a living by catching thieves. To earn as much money as possible, these people may lynch or blackmail those who they have caught. This may lead to more crime, not less.

The article points out that the public should be protected by the police. And authorities should hire more professional police personnel or reform its management system to handle the lack of police members.