 Take crime out of police work, and what s left is procedures. In the western sector of Beijing, we follow the tedium of police officers. A rabid dog is loose in Guoli s beat: a gang of police officers hunts it down. Then, word comes from on high to pick up all the dogs in the sector: fear of rabies combines with the dogs  being status symbols of the nouveau riche. Occasionally a criminal is picked up: someone selling porn, someone running a three-card-monte game. Cops smoke, go to meetings, and hold trainings. They patrol on bicycles and enforce edicts. Guoli works nights. He s lazy at home, his wife wants him to do more. Is there any more to do?