Watching you: Chengguan officer wears Google Glass

An urban management officer, or Chengguan, in Jiangsu province has started wearing Google Glass as part of his law enforcement kit, the Yangtze Evening Post observed on Monday.

The officer named Jiang Yifan is a member of the urban management team in Tianning district of Changzhou city. Jiang has posted a photo of himself wearing the electronic glasses on his Sina Weibo account.

"It's cool to wear the glasses, but since when did a Chengguan department become so extravagant?" a netizen inquired.

An official with the Tianning urban management team responded that Jiang bought the glasses with his own money.

Jiang said he bought the second-generation Google Glass from an online overseas purchasing agent for 10,000 yuan ($1,606).

The glasses can help supervise the enforcement tactics of officers and prevent false charges from others, he said.

Jiang told the Yangtze Evening Post that using a camera for law enforcement purposes is too conspicuous and could anger citizens, while wearing the smart glasses could help him avoid such conflicts.

Jiang said his next plan is to use the glasses to shoot a documentary film about chenggguan officers.