China's Justice System: 'Mother Judge' hopes to prevent juvenile crimes through big data

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24 years ago, China passed a law creating a juvenile justice system. Chen Haiyi, from the southern city of Guangzhou, has been a juvenile court judge for over two decades. This year, she's a first-time member of the National People's Congress, where she's advocating the use of big data to prevent juvenile crimes. Our reporter Ge Yunfei met Guangzhou's "Mother Judge".

XIAO WU FORMER JUVENILE OFFENDER "At the moment I was arrested, everything seemed surreal. And when I was released out of prison, it was like I was still living in a nightmare."

XIAO ZHANG JUVENILE OFFENDER "I was too impulsive then. Had I not lost my mind, I would not have made such a big mistake. I felt deeply sorry for the victim and his family."

Xiao Wu was sentenced to prison for 3 years due to two robbery cases, and Xiao Zhang for 5 years after killing a man in a brawl. They were both teenagers when they committed crimes.

CHEN HAIYI, JUVENILE COURT JUDGE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS DEPUTY "Sooner or later these kids will have to return to society. If they return with a vengeful heart, or feel that they are treated unfairly or abandoned, they may resort to extremes at any moment."

Chen Haiyi is a deputy of the 13th National People's Congress and presiding judge of the Juvenile Court of the Guangzhou Intermediate Court. For many people, juvenile offenders face a bleak future.

But for Chen, they deserve to be given another chance. She has heard over 4,000 cases involving minors in the past 21 years, and said no offender committed a crime again after walking out of prison.

Helping young offenders find new schools or jobs has always been part of Chen's work. For her care and compassion, Chen has earned the moniker"Mother Judge". But her dedication hasn't always elicited a good response.

CHEN HAIYI, JUVENILE COURT JUDGE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS DEPUTY "Chinese society today has a misunderstanding of judicial jurisdiction. They think we're too protective or too tolerant of young offenders who, as a result, fear nothing."

According to a report by the Supreme People's Court, there were nearly 36,000 juvenile offenders in China in 2016. Most of them were tried for theft, robbery, and intentional assault. But more detailed statistics and national surveys do not exist at the moment, and some of the numbers contradict each other. So Chen has a suggestion for this year's National People's Congress.

CHEN HAIYI, JUVENILE COURT JUDGE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS DEPUTY "With privacy protection as a precondition, we need to set up a big data platform to analyze a young offender's family background and education level, and to track their record after they get out of prison. That's so we can establish an early warning system to prevent them from making mistakes."

Chen also hopes the big data platform can provide evidence that minors who broke the law are not as harmful as others think they are.

CHEN HAIYI, JUVENILE COURT JUDGE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS DEPUTY "We need to make rational decisions supported by data, instead of advocating lowering the age of criminal responsibility because of extreme cases. Punishing more juvenile offenders or imposing stiffer penalties are not the best ideas."

While she could help only the defendants she meets in court, Chen said improving the system can save many, many more children. Ge Yunfei, CGTN, Guangzhou.