The local prosecutor's office plans to establish 22 new community offices around the city by the end of 2015 so it can better collaborate with local residents and police on community-level issues such as petty crime, probation violation and inadequate law enforcement, local media reported.

There are 31 of the community offices in the city, which work with 117 local police stations and 87 residential communities, according to the Youth Daily.

The Shanghai Municipal People's Prosecutor's Office started the community initiative in 2010 and has been gradually expanding it to every district in the city.

The new offices have helped the prosecutor's office keep a better eye on residents on probation. As of March 2012, community office staff members had checked the records of more than 5,000 offenders and found 311 who had failed to comply with the terms of their probation, according to a report in the Legal Daily.

The community offices will also handle the petty crimes and disputes that local police might not be inclined to address.

Youth Daily reported that 80 percent of petty criminal cases in Shanghai took place in residential communities.

"The duties of the community prosecutor's offices include activities directed at crimes that make life in the community unsafe and unpleasant, as well as the supervision of adult and youth offenders on probation," said Yu Dudu, a press officer from the Yangpu District People's Prosecutor's Office.

There are currently two community prosecutor's offices in Yangpu district. Each office has about five staff members who handle complaints, meet with petitioners, supervise offenders on probation and monitor law enforcement, Yu said.

"Through these outreach efforts, residents can get access to the prosecutor's office services at their doorsteps," Yu told the Global Times. "They will also help us more closely monitor minor offenders who are on probation."