At the first Sino-European Forum on Human Rights, held in Strasbourg, France on Friday, a prosecutor said that China has established a juvenile prosecution and court system under China's legal and justice systems to deal with juvenile crimes.
Zhou Ying, a prosecutor from the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China, speaks at the first Sino-European Forum on Human Rights held in Strasbourg, France on Dec. 4, 2015. [Photo by Zhang Rui / China.org.cn]
"Considering the characteristics of juvenile crimes, China decided to set up special departments to do it," said Zhou Ying, a prosecutor from the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China. She added that China has always had mercy when it comes to saving young offenders, and that the country added a chapter concerning juvenile crimes prosecution procedures to the amendment of China's Criminal Law in 2012.
"China's policy is to save juvenile offenders by correction and education, and tries to make fewer arrests according to the evaluation of the particular situation," she said.
Violent juvenile crimes have been on the rise in recent years. Many are related to gangs, while migrant workers' children also pose a problem and are easily involved in crimes as they have often receive a low level of education.
At the same time, protecting and helping juvenile crime victims is also important, she said, and China's various departments will help them avoid committing a second offense.
