China passes community correction law

BEIJING -- China's top legislature Saturday adopted a law on community correction.

The law was approved at the end of a six-day bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

The law stipulates the applicable subjects, management and working mechanism, procedures, supervision, as well as the education and support measures of community correction.

Community correction targets criminals who were sentenced to public surveillance, given a reprieve, released on parole, or permitted to temporarily serve their sentences outside prison, says the law.

The law aims to advance and standardize community correction work, help the subjects better re-integrate into society and prevent and reduce crime, says the law.

The law calls for efforts to improve the use of information technology in community correction organizations and makes provisions in areas such as information verification and electronic positioning.

The law also encourages and supports enterprises, public institutions, social organizations and volunteers to participate in community corrections.

Although the law, which will take effect on July 1, 2020, is China's first law on community correction, the country began community correction pilot programs in 2003 and initiated trial implementation nationwide in 2009.

About 4.78 million people have undergone or are undergoing community corrections since 2003, said Jiang Aidong, head of the community correction administration under the Ministry of Justice, at a press conference.

"The recidivism rate was only about 0.2 percent," said Wang Aili with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee.