A procurator is teaching children legal knowledge about prevention of juvenile delinquency in Haigang district, Qinhuangdao, North China's Hebei Province on August 7, 2018. 9Photo: IC)

Minor crimes are understandable but should not be condoned, juvenile protection expert Shen Deyong told the Beijing Youth Daily on Monday, as China's Law on the Protection of Minors prepares to see major amendments.

Shen called for the construction of specialized schools and reform centers for juvenile delinquents, the report said. 

"Neither sentencing nor acquittal is an effective way. It is necessary to improve disciplinary measures, such as shelters, rehabilitation and specialized education instead of imposing criminal penalties," Shen, director of the Committee of Social and Legal Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee, told the Beijing Youth Daily. 

Strengthening legal education for minors and providing them with psychological health education are effective ways to prevent crimes at their root, Shen said, adding the establishment of an accountability system for guardians and juvenile protection agencies under central and local governments can unify family, school, society and judicial protection together to deal with the growing social problem of school bullying.

"Different levels of rectification measures, such as a guardian discipline system, special schools, reeducation shelters, community-based correction and penalties are supposed to be set up for the maximization of minors' benefits, which embodies the principle of tolerance but does not indulge them," he noted.

The Law was first enacted and implemented in 1991 and was revised twice in 2006 and 2012. 

With continued rapid economic and social development, the social conditions on which the legislation was based have changed greatly, and many new problems have emerged in the process of applying the law.