The young offenders in the alleged racer gang that caused a fatal crash in Hà Nội on November 2, sparking public outcry over justice for the 27-year-old victim. — Photo vov.vn

HÀ NỘI — With the number of juvenile offences on the rise, experts are urging an improved juvenile justice system to address the shortcomings in the current regulations.

According to a 2021 report on crime offenders and victims under 18 in Việt Nam, there were over 5,000 minors involved in criminal cases nationwide.

Among them, up to 94 per cent underwent prosecution when they were between 16-18, while the other six per cent went through the proceedings between 14-16. More than 96 per cent of juvenile offenders were male.

Approximately 80,000 traffic violations by adolescents were recorded in October this year. In particular, a fatal crash caused by a young racer gang aged between 16-19 sparked outrage among the public.

In a draft decree on handling violations of road traffic safety and order, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) proposed increasing the penalty fivefold for parents and guardians who allow an adolescent to illegally operate a vehicle.

Nguyễn Thanh Hồng, a former member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Defence and Security said that more efforts are required to thoroughly address traffic violations committed by students, in addition to implementing new road traffic regulations.

“The new Law on Traffic Safety and Order will soon come into effect, which includes regulations adjusted for juvenile offenders.

“Therefore, the key issue at hand is to well-implement this law, apply it in practice to reduce the rate of juvenile delinquency,” Hồng told Voice of Việt Nam (VOV).

Nguyễn Trọng An, former deputy head of the Child Care and Protection Department, expressed concerns at the rising number of complex, organised juvenile offences.

These violations pose increasing threats to society, but many of these cases cannot be handled with criminal proceedings due to gaps in legal documents.

“Việt Nam has yet to adopt a separate law for juvenile justice and still defines adolescents as people under 16 in its Law on Children.

“Meanwhile, international conventions and 193 countries across the world define children as people under 18, and only two or three countries have the same definition as Việt Nam,” said An.

He added that these regulations pose challenges to law enforcement and carrying out deterrence and preventive measures, which lead to a large number of offenders under 18 years old as currently recorded.

Lawyer Phạm Thành Tài, a director of the Phạm Danh Law Firm said that, according to Article 12 of the 2015 Criminal Code (amended in 2017), criminal liability in Việt Nam can be applied to persons aged 14 to under 16 for very serious or particularly serious crimes committed intentionally.

He opined that this regulation is not aligned with the actual criminal situation and creates a loophole that allows the exploitation of minors in committing crimes.

Associate Professor Dr Trần Thành Nam also stressed the need to consider juvenile offences from a development psychology perspective.

“From a psychological standpoint, there is an attraction to forbidden behaviours - the more something is prohibited, the more people are tempted to break the rules to prove their boldness and rebelliousness. This is very common among young people,” he said.

Therefore, fines and penalties must be accompanied by efforts to promote education, law understanding and raising awareness, he explained.

The draft Law on Juvenile Justice has been tabled for discussion at the National Assembly aiming to ensure a balance between deterrence, crime prevention and the promotion of humanity and rehabilitation for juvenile offenders. — VNS