BEIJING - The number of underage recidivists in China dropped by 24 percent between 2007 and 2011 as the country upped its efforts to reform young offenders, according to a statement issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Wednesday.
More underage offenders have been helped to receive proper education and assistance and return to a normal social life instead of being sent to jails, said the SPP statement.
In addition, prosecutors have also tried not to put teenagers through judicial procedures, but transferred them to community education schemes.
From 2007 to 2011, prosecutors nationwide rejected arrests of more than 620,000 teenage suspects and dropped charges for around 17,800 of those arrested.
About 17.7 percent of teenage suspects were not arrested in 2011, up from 12.55 percent in 2007, while 4.44 percent of arrested suspects were not prosecuted, up from 3.45 percent, according to the statement.
Many local procuratorates have set up special divisions to handle cases involving teenagers so as to take care of their special needs, it added.
There are nearly 300 prosecutor offices specializing in underage offences across China.
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