Research Report on the Model of Preventing Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Community of China

Author: Ju Qing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Chapter
Youth in China's urban community development and the prevention of juvenile delinquency
Youth are the successors of China's modernization cause, and their growth and development are closely related to the country's future. Protecting the legitimate rights and interests of youth and preventing juvenile delinquency are extremely important tasks concerning the healthy growth of youth. In recent years, this aspect of work has received widespread attention from the Party, government, and all sectors of society. From the beginning of the reform and opening-up to the 1990s, juvenile crime in China showed a continuous upward trend. In the past decade, although the total number of juvenile delinquencies has been controlled, some worrying changes have emerged in terms of the methods and nature of the crimes. Gangsterism, violence, and low are prominent characteristics of juvenile crime at the current stage.
For a long time, the fundamental principle of China's work to prevent juvenile delinquency has been "comprehensive governance." With the deepening of China's reform and opening-up and the development of the socialist market economy, the micro and macro environments in which youth live and grow have undergone significant changes. Comprehensive governance of juvenile delinquency now faces new situations, presents new characteristics, and shows new trends. Objectively, comprehensive governance requires promptly identifying new problems, summarizing new experiences, exploring new models and approaches, finding new breakthrough points, and focusing on proactive intervention and prevention to shift the prevention threshold as far forward as possible, thereby maximizing the elimination of various negative factors that may lead to crime.
From a theoretical and practical perspective, during China's social transformation, juvenile delinquency is inevitable on a macro and overall level, and complete eradication is difficult. However, at the micro level and in localized areas, juvenile delinquency can be prevented and controlled. The so-called micro level and localized areas refer to social units and organizations closely related to youth's growth and development, such as families, schools, and communities. These units and organizations together constitute the most direct environmental factors influencing the physical and mental development of youth. Research shows that a large number of youth's deviant behaviors are closely linked to their family, school, and community environments. Therefore, from the perspective of grassroots practical work, the focus of preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency should be placed on family