Southern Metropolis Daily:

The speaker mentioned that procuratorial organs have carried out the criminal policy of fewer arrests, cautious prosecution and detention, and the system of sentence bargaining. What is the background of these policies and what is their significance? How are they implemented in reality? Thank you. 

Zhang Xiaojin:

The all-around social and economic development has led to remarkable changes in the pattern of crimes committed across the country, with the continuous decrease in robbery, murder, and other serious violent crimes but the sharp rise of crimes endangering economic and social management order such as drunk driving and disturbing market order. I would like to introduce the two "90%'s": first, about 90% of cases are misdemeanors, involving individuals sentenced to fewer than three years of imprisonment or non-prosecution; second, the application rate of sentence bargaining has also been close to 90%. Most of the cases are misdemeanor cases. For the suspects and defendants who pleaded guilty and accepted their punishments, their subjective malignancy and social harm were greatly reduced, and. therefore, there is no need to put them in custody for trial. In the face of such major changes, the philosophies and policies behind case handling should keep pace with the times. Against this historical background, following the reform of sentence bargaining proposed at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the CPC Central Committee established the criminal policy of fewer arrests and cautious prosecution and detention last year, giving full play to the legal, political, and social effect of cases handling and accelerating the transformation from focusing on "criminal punishment" to "good governance" so as to promote the modernization of national governance. 

Procuratorial organs conscientiously implemented the sentence bargaining system and the policy of "fewer arrests, prudent prosecution and detention" Since then, remarkable achievements have been made. By far, the complaint rate of cases involving the sentence bargaining system stands at 0.046%, 6.45 percentage points lower than other criminal cases. The custody rate before litigation dropped to 59.3% in 2020 from 91.4% 20 years ago. By June, the rate further lowered to 32.7%. I'd like to stress that sentence bargaining does not equal uniform leniency, and "fewer arrests, prudent prosecution and detention" doesn't mean no arrests, no litigation, and no custody. While implementing the system and policy, procuratorial organs shall consider specific cases and public opinion and prescribe clemency or severity according to the law. Severe punishments must be meted out while handling crimes seriously undermining national security and public security, violent crimes, gang-related crimes, crimes against vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly, and the disabled, and other serious crimes committed with malicious intent. Misdemeanors with aggravating circumstances shall also be punished severely. Supervision could be realized through high-tech means such as electric bracelet wearing and big data analysis for suspects of misdemeanors who are not subject to arrest. Suspects who will not be prosecuted but shall receive administrative punishment will be transferred to competent authorities. All the efforts are aimed to combine punishment with clemency in criminal prosecution and ensure the severity of the administrative penalty. Thank you.