Boundary of public power

"Reward for catching thieves. One for 1,000 Yuan", proclaim the posters peppering the streets and lanes in the Gulou district, Fuzhou, Fujian province. The police of Gulou district launched the publicity campaign to encourage people to turn in crime suspects.

Fuzhou is not the first place in China where the police launched the "reward for catching thieves". The measure is deeply flawed.