Chongqing - At least 3,000 police officials in Chongqing are facing a major job reshuffle to clean up the police force tainted by its protection of several organized gangs.

All police officers ranking between the lowest administrative level (deputy head of a section) and the level of deputy bureau director in the city must take exams to compete for new posts starting in March, according to head of the city's public security bureau.

The southwest municipality with a population of 30 million has approximately 23,000 police, of which at least 3,000 are serving at the level of head or deputy head of a section, according to insiders.