The Ministry of Public Security has introduced new regulations to curb "deep-sea fishing" and rectify the chaos of cross-province law enforcement.

In recent years, the voices opposing "distant water fishing" and "profit-driven law enforcement" have been growing louder. This phenomenon has multiple causes, including some regions seeking cases that can generate economic benefits due to financial pressure, as well as the overly broad provisions of our country's criminal jurisdiction, which provide a legal basis for "distant water fishing."

Since the second half of 2024, the judicial system has taken several measures to curb this issue, such as the "Procuratorial Protection for Enterprises" special action and the "Special Supervision on Illegal Cross-Regional Law Enforcement and Profit-Driven Law Enforcement". However, the most powerful measure is the new regulations issued by the Ministry of Public Security in March 2025, aimed at curbing distant ocean fishing from the source and preventing local public security agencies from abusing jurisdiction to engage in profit-driven law enforcement.

The new regulations clearly stipulate that the jurisdiction of cross-province criminal cases is primarily determined by the main crime location, with the location of the enterprise as a secondary factor. This differs from the current "Regulations on the Procedures for Public Security Organs to Handle Criminal Cases," which state that criminal cases are under the jurisdiction of the public security organs at the place of the crime or the residence of the suspect, which has a broader scope.

For cybercrime, current regulations allow multiple local public security organs to have jurisdiction, including the location of the server, the location of the network service provider, etc. The regulations from 2018 further allow the public security organs that initially discover or accept economic crime cases to have jurisdiction, which further expands the scope of jurisdiction.

This broad jurisdictional provision may lead to a competition among law enforcement agencies in different regions for economically beneficial cases, making it difficult for defense attorneys to argue from a jurisdictional perspective. It may also affect the fair handling of cases and even lead to wrongful convictions. Especially for new and complex cases involving blockchain, Web3, and other technologies, local law enforcement agencies far from the crime scene may lack the necessary expertise and technical means.

The new regulations also require that cases reported that should be under the jurisdiction of other provinces are to be transferred to the public security organs at the location of the enterprise. This will effectively prevent law enforcement agencies from abusing their jurisdiction.

In the face of "ocean fishing", enterprises can take the following remedial measures:

1. Raise an objection to the jurisdiction of the public security organ and have the right to appeal.
2. Call "12389" to report a complaint.
3. Log in to the 12309 China Prosecutor's Network to reflect issues, especially in the "Special Supervision Zone for Violations of Enterprises by Law Enforcement in Different Locations and Profit-driven Law Enforcement."

According to reports, since the release of the new regulations, public security systems across the country have been actively organizing learning and implementation, and carrying out related special inspection actions. It is hoped that this new regulation can be effectively enforced to protect the rights and interests of enterprises and individuals, and promote the progress of the rule of law.