Crime, Fire and Traffic Reports On Weibo

China’s micro-blogging platform Weibo is not just about cute pictures, scandals and self-indulgent oversharing. Beijing’s police and fire departments are both spreading valuable – and intriguing – news about the city, from crime to traffic reports.

The Beijing police Weibo page is now featuring weekly reports on “hot” crime areas in Beijing (posted every Monday). The reported crimes include pickpocketing and cases of fraud. Last week’s list of popular pickpocketing spots include Zhanlan Lu, Shuangjing, Wanshou Lu and Dahongmen, with the majority of incidents occurring around rush hour. Cases of cheating/fraud occurred in Zhanlan Lu, Huajiadi, Malianwa, and Fangzhuang with most reports in the morning and afternoon.

The police microblog also includes additional police reports and public service announcements. Meanwhile, the fire department Weibo page offers updates on fire regulations and can even be used for reporting fires. (Though the latter service hasn’t picked up with the public.)

A useful page for everyone is Beijing’s traffic microblog, which offers updates every half hour and maps out the current traffic flow in an easy-to-read map.

Photo: Weibo.com/beijinglukuang