Most of city’s juvenile criminals non-local

The majority of underage criminals in Shanghai are from other parts of China, local media reported Thursday.

There had been an increasing trend of crimes committed by underage people in Shanghai from 2004 to 2007, according to a report in the Laodong Daily, which cited figures from a Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress work meeting about underage crime.

The number of teenage criminals rose to 2,682 in 2007, the highest in 30 years. The figure fell to 2,571 in 2008 and 1,045 in 2013.

Although the number of non-local underage criminals has fallen since 2008, it is still a large number compared with local underage criminals.

Most of the crimes committed by teenagers are robbery and theft. In 2011, more than 85 percent of underage criminals were arrested on five charges, such as theft, intent to harm and group fighting.

To solve the problem of underage crime, Shanghai has introduced a software system that can track down individual teenagers. The chief criminal court judge of each district will act as a liaison with different government departments. The judges will visit the teenage criminals on a regular basis until the criminal is 25 years old.