Facing a growing number of young offenders, Hunan Province in Central China drew up a regulation that brings together schools, families and the community to prevent juvenile delinquency.

The draft regulation, a bylaw for implementing the 1999 Law on Preventing Minors' Offences, was discussed on Wednesday.

Chen Gang, a deputy to the 10th People's Congress of Hunan, said the number of young offenders is on the rise, fuelled by an insufficient legal education.

A survey conducted by the Hunan Provincial Prison Management Bureau shows that less than 9 per cent of young offenders have never had legal lessons at school, and more than 88 per cent of them did not know the country has two laws focusing on juveniles.

The draft stipulates that primary and middle schools should include legal education into their teaching programmes and allocate special teachers rather than hire people temporarily for the curriculum.

Moreover, schools should pay special care and give instruction to delinquent students to put them back on the right track quickly, says the draft.

Leaders of schools with weak legal education that leads to minors offending will receive administrative sanction, says the draft.

Besides school education, the draft also defines the responsibilities of parents, such as correcting misconduct and preventing them from staying out all night.

Inadequate and improper home education was found to be a major cause for many juvenile delinquency cases.

More than 85 per cent of minor offenders in Hunan often suffered beatings and scolding from their parents, said the survey.

The draft regulation grants public security authorities the right to urge and advise parents to discipline their children.

As to the society supervision, the draft stipulates that stores are not allowed to sell cigarettes, alcohol or violent and obscene publications and videos to young people.

The draft also forbids minors' access to adult-only public entertainment venues such as dance bars, karaoke bars and gaming rooms.

Moreover, cyber cafes should not be set up within 200 metres of a school, says the draft.

Yang Shoujian, a researcher with the China Youth and Children Research Centre, said the number of minor offenders in China was again on a rise after a downturn between 1995 and 1996.

Figures from the Supreme People's Procuratorate show nearly 70,000 minors were arrested last year, up 12.7 per cent year-on-year.

Robbery, theft, assault and rape cases topped juveniles' crimes, Yang said, and in recent years, China has seen an increasing number of drug cases involving youngsters, which account for 85 per cent of China's drug addicts.

(China Daily July 30, 2004)