HÀ NỘI — National Assembly deputies yesterday reviewed reports presented by the Supreme’s People Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Ministry of Public Security on crime-fighting activities, judicial processes and anti-corruption efforts in 2018.

Minister of Public Security Tô Lâm said the country’s political apparatus, under the directives and guidance of the Government, had been working to prevent and fight crime. Government law enforcement agencies had been ordered to continue to improve their capacity and legal mechanisms as well as to encourage people to get involved in crime-fighting efforts.

Nearly 200 directives had been issued to support the efforts with the NA passing seven draft laws with eight more currently being reviewed. Numerous anti-crime campaigns were set up on a national level to combat human trafficking and drugs, which had resulted in positive impacts on social order and security.

Law enforcement agencies prosecuted more than 3,500 criminal syndicates and 6,360 individuals this year. This helps to bring the country’s crime rate down by 2.72 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Regarding anti-corruption and economic crime, this year was marked by numerous high-profile investigations and prosecutions, which were closely watched by the public.

The amount of assets recovered from corruption cases rose, major blows were dealt to transnational drug trafficking networks, and progress made in traffic safety and fire prevention and fighting.

However, the minister said the law enforcement agencies still faced difficulties due to increasingly complex criminal activities, especially in dealing with corruption cases and interest groups. Black-market loans had become widespread in recent years with loan sharks resorting to more violent means to collect debts, resulting in unlawful restraints and illegal seizures of properties. Homicides, abuse against minors, theft and robberies were also on the rise.

Corruption was still rampant with interest groups working to take advantage of various loopholes in the system causing large economic losses to the State budget. Environmental crimes and food safety violations were out of control while high-tech crimes such as credit card fraud and online gambling resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

 The Government renewed its pledge to make crime-fighting a priority next year. Transparency within the judicial process would also be made a priority to stop police brutality and forced confessions.

Speaking on the sidelines of the NA meeting today, minister Tô Lâm said the public security ministry would consider the possibility of house arrest for offenders convicted of petty crimes as a way to lessen the burden on the country’s prison system, which was overwhelmed and struggling to deal with a large number of inmates. — VNS