Juvenile crime rate falls, cases involve more violence: SPP

Arrests and prosecutions of juveniles in China are on the decline, however, cases of juvenile delinquency across the board are more violent and involve younger minors, said the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) Thursday.

The arrest and prosecution rates of underage suspects in 2013 dropped 7.72 and 1.42 percentage points last year in comparison with 2012. Relapses among minors also declined, with a 29.6 percent decrease in cases of relapse in 2013 in comparison with 2008.

Shi Weizhong, deputy head of the public prosecution department of SPP, said at the Thursday press conference that underage suspects who entered legal procedures are mainly aged between 16 and 18. However, the number of those aged 14 to 16 has been on the rise.

A total 90.24 percent of the juvenile suspects prosecuted in 2013 had middle school diplomas or below, and many had not yet graduated from middle school when they were prosecuted.

Juvenile suspects from migrant populations have taken up about 25 percent of all juvenile delinquency cases over the past five years. The rates are higher in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

According to the Beijing High People's Court, 65.3 percent of juvenile offenders were non-Beijingers, reported the Xinhua News Agency.

Over 80 percent of juvenile delinquency cases involved theft, robbery, provoking trouble, intentional injury and affray in the past five years, while methods of crime are more violent and adult-like.

Three young men were detained on Monday by Beijing police on suspicion of assault on a 14-year-old teenager in Chaoyang district. They allegedly beat the teenager because they suspected him of snitching on them.

SPP spokesperson Xiao Wei said at the conference that prosecutors at all levels have upheld the principle of "education comes first" rather than punishment in cases of juvenile delinquency, reported the Legal Daily.

"There have been fewer detentions. Interrogations and prosecutions are conducted in ways suitable for minors. We work to educate and help to change underage suspects," Xiao said.