Hebei launches environmental protection teams

China's first public security force specializing in environmental crimes has been launched in Hebei province.

A number of cities in Hebei have launched environmental protection teams under the province's public security department to look into environmental crimes, specifically involving industrial companies.

They will cooperate with environmental protection bureaus and have already been established in several provincial cities, including the capital city of Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Hengshui and Chengde.

Other cities in the province will set up their own teams this month, said Feng Fan, the assistant inspector from Public Security Department of Hebei.

Since June, 183 suspects have been arrested for polluting the environment. Municipal public security departments have placed 185 cases on file through the end of August and investigated another 459 companies for illegal pollutant emissions.

"We will take harsher actions on polluters in the following six months, with targets on companies from the electric power, coking, petrification, pharmaceutical, chemical engineering and leather industries," Feng said.