Sichuan to arm traffic police with guns  

四川交警將全面配槍執勤

Undated photo of traffic cops competing at a shooting event between Sept. 18 and 20 in Chengdu, Sichuan province. (Photo: West China City Daily)

(ECNS) -- China's Sichuan province looks set to roll out armed patrols of traffic police to better combat terrorism.

From September 18 to 20, Sichuan Traffic Police Corps conducted gun training and a competition to improve traffic police ability to deal with emergencies. In the future, armed patrols, already in position across Chengdu and Ziyang cities, will gradually spread to the whole province.

"The duties of traffic cops have changed due to developing situations," said a Sichuan Traffic Police insider, "Combating terrorism is no longer a task for certain groups of police, but one that needs collaborative efforts among all types of forces."

Traffic police are more likely to detect potential terrorist threats, and are often at the forefront in probes. Getting armed and learning how to use a gun would greatly improve safety in law enforcement.

So far, few gun trainings have been organized for traffic police. Sichuan Traffic Police Corps Captain Ye Jiankun said the province will beef up weapons used by traffic police and improve their gun skills.