The central province of Quang Nam has seen a remarkable increase in teen crime that includes robberies, gang fighting and even murder, according to the province's police department, which reported that over half of the 587 arrests in the province last year were of persons under 16 years of age.
"There are many reasons for the growth in adolescent crime," said Quang Nam police chief Nguyen The Nghiep.
"Inappropriate education of children at school, at home and in society has resulted in their reduced interest in following a healthy lifestyle," said Nghiep. "Children, especially from rural, remote and ethnic areas where they have limited education and parental guidance, easily fall into a life of crime."
A recent survey of 1,000 students by the Environmental and Social Affairs Research Institute found that 95 percent lacked sufficient life skills and over 76 percent expressed a wish for greater life skills training and reported feeling embarrassed at dealing with problems they are met in their lives.
"Family is the most important factor in teen crime," said the head of the child protection office of the Quang Nam Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Ngo Thi Loan.
"Recent years have been seen an alarming increase in the number of children affected by family problems," said Loan. "They've seen their parents fighting, breaking up and divorcing. And many children have been the victims of domestic violence themselves, being beaten and humiliated by their parents."
All of these were leading factors in children leaving home and committing crimes, said Loan.
Teen crime had been on the rise nationwide, especially in major cities, HCM City deputy police chief Phan Anh Minh said in a television interview earlier this year.
Teen gangs in the city, he noted, had been robbing passing motorists at night, especially women, with such cases increasing by 50 percent in the past year and over 2,000 motorists losing their motorbikes to gangs, Minh said.
Over 10,000 teenagers nationwide committed crimes each year, said the head of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affair's Children's Department, Nguyen Hai Huu, who blamed a complex of factors for the alarming increase.
An unwholesome living environment, with easy access to harmful cultural influences and the popularity of violence in movies, had all contributed to children's negative lifestyles, promoting dissolute behaviour and ignorance of law and order, said Huu.
"Family education plays a critical role in the formation of a child's character and behaviour," said Huu, adding that children with a solid education from their parents were equipped to get through difficult situations on their own.
"Living in families with parents or adults who are criminals or who often fight, gamble, steal, or sell drugs or contraband badly influences children, who easily come to disregard law and order and become accomplices to crime," said Dang Thanh Nga of the Psychology Institute of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.
To help boost the awareness and lifestyles of children, the Ministry of Education and Training has been moving to improve morality training in schools, including ways to get students more interested in the classes and to gain more positive experiences from them.
Teachers will receive better training in these areas, the ministry has said, also suggesting that families become more involved in guiding their children.
The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, meanwhile, is developing a programme to reform teenage criminals and reintegrate into their communities.
"We have been focusing on arresting those who break the law and putting them into re-education centres, but we haven't done enough to help them return to normal life," said Huu.
The Children's Department was working in co-ordination with the ministries of Education, Public Security and Justice to help young offenders receive a more proper and friendlier education, said Huu. The programme was slated to be submitted to the Government for approval later this year./.
"There are many reasons for the growth in adolescent crime," said Quang Nam police chief Nguyen The Nghiep.
"Inappropriate education of children at school, at home and in society has resulted in their reduced interest in following a healthy lifestyle," said Nghiep. "Children, especially from rural, remote and ethnic areas where they have limited education and parental guidance, easily fall into a life of crime."
A recent survey of 1,000 students by the Environmental and Social Affairs Research Institute found that 95 percent lacked sufficient life skills and over 76 percent expressed a wish for greater life skills training and reported feeling embarrassed at dealing with problems they are met in their lives.
"Family is the most important factor in teen crime," said the head of the child protection office of the Quang Nam Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Ngo Thi Loan.
"Recent years have been seen an alarming increase in the number of children affected by family problems," said Loan. "They've seen their parents fighting, breaking up and divorcing. And many children have been the victims of domestic violence themselves, being beaten and humiliated by their parents."
All of these were leading factors in children leaving home and committing crimes, said Loan.
Teen crime had been on the rise nationwide, especially in major cities, HCM City deputy police chief Phan Anh Minh said in a television interview earlier this year.
Teen gangs in the city, he noted, had been robbing passing motorists at night, especially women, with such cases increasing by 50 percent in the past year and over 2,000 motorists losing their motorbikes to gangs, Minh said.
Over 10,000 teenagers nationwide committed crimes each year, said the head of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affair's Children's Department, Nguyen Hai Huu, who blamed a complex of factors for the alarming increase.
An unwholesome living environment, with easy access to harmful cultural influences and the popularity of violence in movies, had all contributed to children's negative lifestyles, promoting dissolute behaviour and ignorance of law and order, said Huu.
"Family education plays a critical role in the formation of a child's character and behaviour," said Huu, adding that children with a solid education from their parents were equipped to get through difficult situations on their own.
"Living in families with parents or adults who are criminals or who often fight, gamble, steal, or sell drugs or contraband badly influences children, who easily come to disregard law and order and become accomplices to crime," said Dang Thanh Nga of the Psychology Institute of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.
To help boost the awareness and lifestyles of children, the Ministry of Education and Training has been moving to improve morality training in schools, including ways to get students more interested in the classes and to gain more positive experiences from them.
Teachers will receive better training in these areas, the ministry has said, also suggesting that families become more involved in guiding their children.
The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, meanwhile, is developing a programme to reform teenage criminals and reintegrate into their communities.
"We have been focusing on arresting those who break the law and putting them into re-education centres, but we haven't done enough to help them return to normal life," said Huu.
The Children's Department was working in co-ordination with the ministries of Education, Public Security and Justice to help young offenders receive a more proper and friendlier education, said Huu. The programme was slated to be submitted to the Government for approval later this year./.
