In 2020, the procuratorial organs prosecuted 33,000 minors suspected of committing crimes.


　　Will the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility be able to control the "little devil"

　　"In 2020, procuratorial organs will prosecute 33,000 minors suspected of committing crimes." Zhang Jun, chief procurator of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, announced this data when he delivered a report on the Supreme Procuratorial Work to the Fourth Session of the 13th National People’s Congress on March 8.

　　In response to the trend of younger and violent juvenile delinquency in recent years, especially considering that some minors under the age of 14 have used cruel methods to commit violent crimes, the Criminal Law Amendment (11) that came into effect on March 1 this year The minimum age of criminal responsibility in China has been lowered from 14 to 12 years old, stipulating that people who have reached the age of 12 but under the age of 14 commit intentional homicide, intentional injury, cause death or cause serious disability by using special cruel methods to cause serious injury. If the circumstances are bad and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate has approved the prosecution, it shall bear criminal responsibility.

　　In addition, in order to handle the relationship between juvenile delinquency prevention and related punishment, correction, protection, and education, the revised law on the prevention of juvenile delinquency that will be implemented on June 1st stipulates that minors carry out acts stipulated by the criminal law , The public security organ may decide to conduct special correction education for those who are not given criminal punishment because they are not up to the legal age of criminal responsibility, after the evaluation and approval of the special education steering committee.

　　How to better prevent juvenile delinquency?

"Special attention should be paid to'pre-offending prevention'." Liu Xiya, deputy to the National People's Congress and principal of Chongqing Xiejiawan Primary School, believes that minors are both physically and mentally flexible. Parents and schools should help minors to establish a sense of rules from an early age to understand society Rules, popularize legal knowledge for them, gradually develop good habits of "learning the law, knowing the law, abiding by the law, and using the law", and know the bottom line of the law.

　　Liu Xiya believes that education of law is an important part of helping minors to enter society.

She suggested that schools in various regions should use methods that are easy for minors to increase the popularization of legal science. They can organize law popularization speech contests, legal debates, mock courts, and legal story sharing sessions. At the same time, it is recommended that education departments join forces. The judicial staff walked into the campus to explain the case and spread the law on the spot for the minors.

　　On the afternoon of March 8th, Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People’s Court, stated in his report on the work of the Supreme Law that he adheres to the principles of education, probation, and salvation for juvenile crimes.

　　According to Li Yingxin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of the People's Court of Tongzhou District of Beijing, the downward adjustment of my country's minimum age of criminal responsibility in the Criminal Law Amendment (11) conforms to popular expectations.

Lowering the age of criminal responsibility is not only a regulation of the behavior of minors, but also a strong protection for more innocent minors who lack the ability to protect themselves.

　　"In handling juvenile crime cases, we should always adhere to the guiding philosophy of'education first, punishment second'." Li Yingxin suggested that in practice, judicial organs should further clarify "particularly cruel methods" and "bad circumstances". The identification standards and the specific standards for the application of penalties in relevant cases to ensure the accurate and uniform implementation of relevant laws.

　　Li Zan, a deputy to the National People’s Congress and a professor at the Sichuan University Law School, reminded that with the implementation of the Criminal Law Amendment (11), the number of juvenile crimes may increase significantly due to the decrease in the age of criminal responsibility. The department should attach great importance to this situation at that time."

　　"Juvenile criminal offenses have their particularity." Lizan suggested that the judicial department should add a special case-handling agency for juvenile criminal cases and assign professionals to handle juvenile criminal cases separately.

　　The key to juvenile delinquency is how to rectify it.

Lizan pointed out that at present, there are still some difficulties in the correction and education of minors in our country. For example, there is a lack of unified working rules and coordination agencies, and there are insufficient administrative staff for community corrections and family education.

　　Lizan suggested that schools, educational administrative departments, public security organs and other departments related to the prevention of juvenile crimes should formulate unified work norms as soon as possible.

In particular, the correction work for minors involved in non-arrest and non-prosecution, probation and parole, and execution outside prison, should further clarify the content and responsibilities of correctional work in specialized schools, ordinary schools, family education, and community follow-up.

　　Talking about how to help minors involved in crime to return to society smoothly and smoothly, Li Yingxin said, “The punishment of juvenile offenders and the classified education and correction of juveniles in violation of the law are ultimately aimed at reintegrating into society.” People’s Court For juvenile offenders, we always implement the concept of "education first, punishment as supplement"; in order to prevent them from re-offending, we have been paying attention to the education and employment of minor offenders.

According to the physical and psychological characteristics of minors and their crimes, education on the rule of law shall be carried out in a targeted manner, and when necessary, education shall be implemented to assist them with the help of the social observation and nursing system.

　　"Minors are involved in criminal offenses, which is a very special crime problem." Lizan suggested that the judiciary should, based on the physical and mental characteristics of minors, not only moderately "soften law enforcement", but also strictly discipline them, so that minors involved in crimes should be strictly disciplined. People truly fear the law from the heart.

　　Our newspaper, Beijing, March 9th

　　China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Jiao Minlong Wang Yijun, trainee reporter Han Sa Source: China Youth Daily