Minors and misdemeanors

After several years in which crimes committed by juveniles fell, the number of such offenses rebounded in 2019, according to a white paper released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate in June.

The paper, which reviewed judicial work on minors from 2014 to 2019, showed that while fewer than 60,000 suspects were taken to court between 2016 and 2018, the figure rose in 2019. Most of the cases involved minors who were unemployed or skipped school, and the top three crimes were theft, robbery and intentional injury, it said.

The number of juveniles age 18 and younger involved in drug-related crimes and school bullying fell over the period, but crimes committed by young people lacking a stable residence, such as those who moved to big cities to seek work, rebounded and the number of juveniles who reoffended rose in 2019, the paper said.