Crime, Juvenile Delinquency and Deterrence Policy in China

In the 1980s China began to witness a substantial increase in criminal activity - mainly as a consequence of rapidly growing juvenile delinquency. Chinese deterrence policy vastly over-reacted to this perceived threat to social order, in an effort to demonstrate the government's defense of moral and cultural values at a time of dramatic economic and social change. International comparison has highlighted the remarkably low rates of crime in Chinese society. The tough reaction there to all forms of crime cannot be rationally explained on the basis of these low rates. The many executions have served only to brutalize the crime scene. The state seems oblivious to the fact that the government's own violence - both in the streets and on the execution ground - might be responsible for propagating further violence. To appreciate the seemingly irrational policies pursued in China over the last decade, it is necessary to view deterrence and execution as social and cultural spectacles, not as types of crime control or punishment only. -from Author