Shanghai residents who file complaints with the local police will now be able to follow progress in their cases online, as well as rate the work of law enforcement officers, on the official website of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, as reported by Shanghai Daily.
Previously, such details could only be provided in person at the police station.
If residents agree to have the information about their cases posted online, they will receive a case number via SMS after one or two working days of filing the complaint. They will be able to access detailed information, such as whether suspects have been caught, using that number and their identity card number.
There will be prompt action in the case of bad rating, according to Fan Hongfei, the director of the legal affairs office at the Public Security Bureau.
"We will contact the person immediately, look into how the case was handled and give further replies and explanation," said Fan.
However, the website said that cases involving "state secrets, business secrets, individual privacy or secrets of police work" will have to stay off-limits.
The website also said that it takes one to two working days for information about cases to be updated.
Aside from the case-tracking service, the website will also publish legal documents like those involving administrative reviews and state compensation, except those "entailing secrecy."
The online portal will also serve as a resource for citizens as it will list laws, regulations and disciplines of police work in a section called "references to law enforcement."