China is creating a more professional and "modern" police force at the same time that "community policing" is being heralded loudly in Western societies. Community policing is criticized as static and outmoded, and it is argued that to meet the need of economic reform and "modernization" in the cities, police should put on their uniforms and conduct regular patrol on the streets. Although the patrol system appears to work to a certain extent, two problems can be observed: the community does not have much of a role to play in the reform, and the patrol system cannot be accomplished successfully without changing the structure of the Chinese police system as a whole. 47 notes (Author abstract modified)