Guidelines to tackle crimes involving kids

China's top prosecutors will collaborate with relevant departments this year to develop guidelines for handling the approval and prosecution of cases involving serious violent crimes committed by minors, officials from the Supreme People's Procuratorate said.

Deputy Procurator-General Gong Ming said at a news conference on Thursday that the SPP and other departments will also research and formulate guidelines this year on strengthening tiered intervention and correction for criminal and wrongful behavior exhibited by minors. China has long upheld the principle of "education first, punishment second" in handling juvenile offenses.

Juvenile crime came under intense scrutiny last year after two teenage boys were convicted of killing their classmate for money in Handan, Hebei province. One of the boys was sentenced to life in prison, and the other to 12 years. The offenders and the victim were all 13 when the crime occurred in March.

Meanwhile, procuratorial authorities intensified efforts last year to crack down on adults who coerce, lure or instigate minors to engage in criminal activities, said Xian Jie, head of the SPP's office for minors' affairs.

The SPP has also ensured that those who commit serious crimes against minors — including violent assault, rape, sexual assault, abduction and trafficking — will be severely punished in accordance with the law, Xian said.

Procuratorial authorities approved the arrest of suspects in more than 43,000 cases involving crimes against minors and prosecuted over 55,000 such cases in 2024, Gong said.

From January to November 2024, prosecutors sent specialists to intervene in investigations of more than 21,000 major and complex cases involving minors. They also supervised the filing of cases involving crimes against minors for nearly 1,900 individuals and rectified missed arrests for almost 900, Xian said.

Additionally, 400 protests were lodged against court rulings in cases where adults committed crimes against minors in the first 11 months of 2024, she said.

Procuratorial authorities have also actively engaged in public interest litigation to protect minors and safeguard their rights.

"The procuratorial organs take a problem-oriented approach, focusing on issues such as food safety around school campuses, minors' personal information security and internet cafes admitting minors — concerns strongly reflected by the public," Xian said.

Prosecutors have also emphasized protecting the rights of juvenile offenders and ensuring they are not discriminated against when seeking education and employment.

In one case disclosed at the news conference, a man surnamed Yu, who was sentenced to two years in prison with a three-year reprieve in 2012 for robbery at age 16, struggled to find a job because his criminal record was improperly disclosed to employers. Under Chinese law, juvenile criminal records should not be accessible to the public.

On June 17, 2024, Yu applied to the procuratorial authority of Chang'an district in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, to review his case. After an investigation, prosecutors found that local public security departments had failed to seal his criminal record. Authorities then ordered the departments to correct the mistake. Yu received a certificate of no criminal record on July 5 and later found employment.