China’s Ministry of Public Security said crime has continued to decline this year, with criminal and public security cases both falling by double digits in the first five months.
Meanwhile, the regime’s documents from several provinces show that local authorities are continuing to invest heavily in new detention centers, police holding facilities, and prisons—some financed through local government bonds.
This possible contradiction has raised questions among legal observers and rights advocates about whether China’s official crime figures fully reflect the country’s detention situation. They spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency reported on July 11, citing Ministry of Public Security data, that from January to May, the number of criminal cases registered nationwide fell 16.1 percent year over year, while public security cases declined 10.6 percent.
Based on those figures, Xinhua said China’s public security situation was “continuously improving” and that public confidence in safety was “steadily increasing.”
However, the figures were released by the public security system itself, which is responsible for receiving reports, deciding whether cases are formally registered, and handling investigations. Authorities did not simultaneously disclose the total number of reported incidents, cases that were not formally registered, administrative detention figures, or changes in the number of people being held across the country.
A Chinese human rights lawyer told The Epoch Times that the official statistics do not align with his observations.
“This is simply saying something completely contrary to reality,” he said. “They always say criminal cases are declining.”
The lawyer said that during recent trips to Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces, families of detained individuals told him that some detention centers were overcrowded.
“There are so many people being held that many places are expanding detention centers and prisons,” he said. “China has more prisons and detention facilities than any other country in the world.”
New Local Detention Facilities
While Xinhua has highlighted declining crime figures, the regime’s documents show continued expansion of detention infrastructure in several regions.
A 2026 credit rating report for Zhejiang provincial government special-purpose bonds listed the “Wenling City Detention Center and Police Detention Facility Relocation Project” as one of the projects supported by special bonds. The project, listed as No. 104, appeared alongside infrastructure projects such as railways and wastewater treatment facilities.
The finance bureau of Liyang City in Jiangsu Province announced that the city issued 1.629 billion yuan ($241 million) in new local government bonds in 2025, including 109 million yuan ($16.1 million) in general bonds. The funds were primarily allocated for projects such as the relocation of a detention center and rural road construction.
Another Chinese human rights lawyer, surnamed Shen, told The Epoch Times that many of these projects are described publicly as “relocation projects,” while the regime has not disclosed the number of detainees currently held, the designed capacity of existing facilities, or how many additional beds the new facilities will provide.
“Prisons are currently insufficient [in capacity],” he said.
Shen said the groups most commonly detained include corruption suspects and people charged with the vaguely defined offense of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge frequently used by the Chinese regime against activists and regime critics.
“The Ministry of Public Security recently announced that criminal cases dropped 16 percent and public security cases dropped 10 percent,” he said. “But those figures cannot withstand scrutiny. Official announcements are propaganda, and they always serve a purpose.”
In recent years, the Chinese regime has repeatedly emphasized a narrative of declining crime.
The Ministry of Public Security said criminal cases fell 4.8 percent in 2023, 25.7 percent in 2024, and another 12.8 percent in 2025. Notably, the regime described the 2025 figure as reaching the “lowest level since the beginning of the 21st century,” according to state media China Central Television.
