National Assembly 'finalizes' 3 models of detention for criminals under 18 years old

The National Assembly agreed to stipulate three detention models for people under 18 who commit crimes, without necessarily having separate prisons.

On the morning of November 30, with 461/463 delegates participating in the vote, the 15th National Assembly passed the draft Law on Juvenile Justice. This law will take effect from January 1, 2026, with many separate provisions on judicial activities for people under 18 who commit crimes.

Chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee Le Thi Nga presented a report explaining, accepting and revising the draft law.

PHOTO: GIA HAN

3 models of detention for criminals under 18 years old

During the law-making process, one of the issues that received much discussion was how to regulate detention for people under 18 who committed crimes, and whether there should be separate prisons or not.

The National Assembly finally agreed on a regulation: minors serving their prison sentences in prisons, sub-camps or detention areas reserved for minors are prisoners.

According to the National Assembly Standing Committee, to resolve the above issue, this agency has directed the Standing Committee of the Judiciary Committee to request the Government to give its opinion on regulations on material conditions of prisons.

Documents from the Government and the Ministry of Public Security both propose not to regulate separate detention camps but only to regulate sub-camps or detention areas specifically for people under 18 years old.

The National Assembly Standing Committee found that currently the number of people under 18 years old serving sentences in prisons is not large, but they are arranged in many prisons across the country.

It is worth noting that there are prisons with only about 20 prisoners under 18 years old, making it difficult to arrange cultural and vocational training, as well as meeting specific requirements.

Therefore, with the aim of meeting the requirement of having a dedicated area for serving sentences, having many models to choose from, and being able to inherit existing facilities, the law has prescribed 3 models of detention places for people under 18 years old.

The Standing Committee said that the choice of model is assigned by law to the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of National Defense to decide, based on actual conditions.

There are also suggestions to consider giving priority to people under 18 years of age who commit crimes to serve their prison sentences at detention facilities near their families and places of residence.

The arrangement will depend on the reality, the number of separate prisons or sub-prisons, and separate detention areas within the prison. Along with that are a number of other conditions, including taking into account the conditions of the inmates' hometowns and places of residence to facilitate visits to relatives.

The National Assembly passed the Law on Juvenile Justice.

PHOTO: GIA HAN

12 Redirection Handling Measures

A very important content stipulated in the Juvenile Justice Law is the handling of diversion. This is considered a special policy that demonstrates the humaneness of the State in handling people under 18 who commit crimes.

Accordingly, diversion is understood as a procedure to replace criminal proceedings to handle people under 18 years of age who commit crimes with social educational and preventive measures.

The law stipulates 12 measures for diversion, including: reprimand, apology to the victim, compensation for damages; participation in educational and vocational training programs; participation in psychological treatment and counseling; and performing community service work.

Along with that is prohibiting contact with people who are at risk of leading minors to commit new crimes; restricting travel hours; prohibiting going to places at risk of leading minors to commit new crimes.

The remaining three measures are education at commune, ward, and town levels; house arrest; and education at reformatory schools.

According to the law, there are 3 groups of subjects to whom redirection measures are applied.

Firstly, people from 14 to under 16 years old who commit very serious crimes according to the provisions of the Penal Code (except for crimes of murder, rape, illegal production of drugs, etc.).

Second, people from 16 to under 18 years old who commit very serious crimes unintentionally, serious crimes or less serious crimes according to the provisions of the Penal Code (except for crimes related to rape, drugs, etc.).

Third, the minor is an accomplice with an insignificant role in the case.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/quoc-hoi-chot-3-mo-hinh-giam-giu-nguoi-duoi-18-tuoi-pham-toi-185241130084250562.htm