Juvenile delinquency is a topic of great concern to the whole society. How to find a balance between legal rigid punishment and social flexible care for juvenile offenders? How to strengthen the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency, and support the rule of law for the healthy growth of minors? From family to school to the judiciary, this is more like a relay race that requires the participation of the whole society. How to find a balance between rigid punishment and flexible care? In March 2025, several members of the "Wei" team of Chongqing prosecutors were reviewing a case within the Chongqing People's Procuratorate. The prosecutors of this team come from the juvenile prosecution departments of various levels of procuratorates in Chongqing, and they all have rich experience in handling cases. However, what they are discussing this time is a theft case with a small amount of money involved and a simple case. So why did such a "small" case attract their attention? In April 2024, a video recording of a theft case was made in a public place. At 2 o'clock in the morning, two suspicious figures were hovering near a white sedan near a residential area in Hechuan District, Chongqing. After observing the surroundings and finding no one, one of them directly opened the rear door of the vehicle and crawled in, and the vehicle immediately sounded a piercing alarm. But the two of them didn't panic. One was watching the wind outside, while the other was searching inside the car. In less than half a minute, they successfully stole and quickly fled the scene. From the entire process, it can be seen that these two people have clear division of labor and are very experienced. After the owner of the stolen car called the police, the public security organ immediately launched an investigation and soon locked the two suspect in the picture. But the identities of these two individuals are somewhat special, as they were both under 18 years old at the time of the incident. Due to the involvement of minors in this case, the People's Procuratorate of Hechuan District, Chongqing was invited to intervene in advance. Liu Qingsong, Assistant Procurator of the Juvenile Procuratorate of Hechuan District People's Procuratorate in Chongqing: When we accepted this case, there were two suspect, one of whom was Xiao Peng. Xiao Peng was handling it at our side. Xiao Peng was suspected of three thefts, each time by pulling the door. The Xiaopeng referred to by the prosecutor is the person wearing a light colored shirt and black shorts in the public video, who was just 17 years old at the time of the incident. The public security organs have confirmed that Xiaopeng was involved in three thefts, and the amount involved is not large. With the deepening of the investigation, another two minor suspect who committed theft together with Xiao Peng came into the view of the investigators. Liu Qingsong stated that besides Xiaopeng, there were two other minors who had not reached the age of criminal responsibility, Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing, who were also involved in the theft at that time. The prosecutor learned that Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing are biological brothers, both under the age of 16. They are from the same town as Xiaopeng and often play together, but now the three of them have become accomplices in committing theft crimes together. The evidence provided by the public security organs shows that these three minors have repeatedly stolen property by pulling the car door into the car, and their actions have been suspected of constituting theft. However, after coming into contact with these three children, the investigators found that their legal awareness was weak and they did not have a clear understanding of theft behavior. According to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, minors who have reached the age of 16 and committed crimes shall bear criminal responsibility and shall be given lighter or mitigated punishment. Minors between the ages of 14 and 16 who commit eight serious crimes, including intentional homicide, shall bear criminal responsibility. That is to say, in this case, 17-year-old Xiaopeng is criminally responsible, while Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing, who are under 16 years old, are not criminally responsible. So what kind of criminal punishment should Xiaopeng accept? How should Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing, who are not held criminally responsible, be dealt with? More importantly, how can these juvenile offenders be truly saved? The procuratorial organs believe that only by fully understanding the upbringing environment and criminal reasons of these minors can the most appropriate handling decisions be made. Only by investigating the "cause" of juvenile delinquency can we prescribe the right medicine. Behind every juvenile delinquency case, there are complex reasons, and only by finding this "cause" can we prescribe the right medicine. According to relevant laws and regulations, the baton of handling this case has been handed over to Yang Shuang, the director of Longshi Judicial Office of Hechuan District Judicial Bureau in Chongqing. Yang Shuang, Director of Longshi Judicial Institute of Hechuan District Judicial Bureau in Chongqing: Once a minor is suspected of committing a crime, the public security organs, procuratorial organs or people's courts will entrust us with a social investigation, and then our community correctional institutions will make a correct assessment. Upon the commission of the investigating department, Yang Shuang undertook the social investigation work for three minors, Xiaopeng, Xiaofeng, and Xiaoqing. After coming into contact with their parents, Yang Shuang discovered a common problem: in these families, although both parents are with their children, there is a deviation in family education. Yang Shuang: Parents take care of their food, drink, and daily life, and then send them to school. As for what kind of education their children can receive, their requirements are relatively low. The lack of family supervision has led these underage individuals who lack discernment to develop some bad habits. Yang Shuang learned that a few years ago, Xiaopeng became addicted to gambling and thus owed a lot of gambling debts. Xiaopeng's parents said that they didn't know how to deal with their son's bad habit of gambling, which led to Xiaopeng getting deeper and deeper. Losing all his money in gambling was also a trigger for him to commit theft. At the same time, Yang Shuang also found that in addition to some bad habits he had, careless socializing was also one of the reasons for these minors committing crimes. After Xiaopeng committed theft, Xiaofeng, who often played with him, also joined in, and Xiaofeng's behavior also affected his younger brother Xiaoqing. Thus, these three minors who lacked proper guidance embarked on the path of crime. Yang Shuang: Especially during adolescence, as their acceptance of social information begins to increase, if their psychological development is not guided correctly, they are also prone to taking the wrong path. So how to guide children to have a correct outlook on life and values still requires parents to lead by example and influence them. From many cases of juvenile delinquency, it can be seen that family guidance and education are very important for children. Similarly, for minors who have already committed crimes, whether parents can take responsibility for supervision and prevent them from committing crimes again is also one of the references for judicial authorities to make punishment decisions. During the communication, Xiaopeng's parents realized their dereliction of duty and expressed their willingness to strengthen their discipline over their son. Considering that Xiaopeng's criminal behavior was relatively minor and his parents were willing to cooperate in disciplinary action, the procuratorial organs believed that Xiaopeng met the relevant policies of lenient treatment, but did not meet the conditions for release on bail pending trial. Therefore, they decided to take criminal coercive measures of residential surveillance on him. So how should Xiao Feng and Xiao Qing, who are involved in the same case, be dealt with? The two brothers are not subject to criminal punishment because they are under 16 years old, but if they do not realize the harm of their behavior and their bad habits are not corrected, will they commit crimes again after returning to society? After studying, the procuratorial organs have decided that sending the two individuals to specialized schools for specialized corrective education is a more suitable option for them. Liu Qingsong: Specialized schools are managed in a closed manner. In addition to receiving normal cultural education, students also receive behavior correction, moral education, and legal education simultaneously to transform their thinking. The baton of managing Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing by combining strict management with cultivation and establishing correct values has been handed over to Lindu School in Hechuan District, Chongqing. Here, these brothers will receive specialized corrective education to correct their serious misconduct. Can they receive education smoothly? What kind of changes will occur in their thoughts and behaviors? Wu Jinggui, a teacher from Lindu School in Hechuan District, Chongqing, has been working at this special school for 15 years. In his hands, over a hundred juvenile offenders have been saved. After Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing enrolled, as their assistant teacher, Wu Jinggui gained a deep understanding of them and implemented targeted assistance plans. Wu Jinggui found through the details of the case that the subjective malice of Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing is not significant, but they lack legal awareness. Their behavior is already suspected of illegal and criminal activities. If they are not made aware of this in a timely manner, if this continues, they may make irreparable mistakes. Wu Jinggui, a teacher at Lindu School in Hechuan District, Chongqing: In response to students' issues, we need to clarify the legal definition and have an assessment based on half a month. This half month has basically allowed him to familiarize himself with some laws and school regulations. On the one hand, strict management is necessary to make them realize their mistakes, and on the other hand, it is also necessary to cultivate their correct values. In teaching, Wu Jinggui found that Xiaofeng is relatively lazy in life and has little interest in learning. So, how can we make him change? Wu Jinggui: Study what he likes and let him transform into what he likes. He likes sports and let him take physical education classes to showcase himself as much as possible. Last May, a table tennis competition was also organized with over thirty students participating. He won third place and was quite happy at the time. Under the influence of his older brother, his younger brother Xiaoqing also underwent changes. Wu Jinggui: Xiaoqing is a second year junior high school student. He told me at that time that he planned to continue his studies after going out. It indicates that he already has the idea of continuing to learn in his mind. At Lindu School, Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing completed their orthodontic treatment plan step by step, and the changes on their bodies were also visible to the naked eye. At the same time, Xiaopeng, who was under residential surveillance, encountered some unexpected situations. During the period of residential surveillance, the sudden loss of contact and the re implementation of criminal residential surveillance is a criminal coercive measure. Although the suspect does not need to be detained, he also needs to comply with relevant laws and regulations. However, during this period, instead of cherishing the opportunity given to him by the procuratorial organ, Xiao Peng committed a crime again. After being placed under residential surveillance, the prosecutor regularly monitored Xiaopeng's situation. At first, his performance was decent, but after a period of time, Xiaopeng suddenly went missing. Liu Qingsong: Later on, Xiaopeng gradually stopped answering our calls. We wondered if Xiaopeng had other theft activities outside and dared not answer our calls. We contacted the police officers from the public security agency responsible for handling it. Subsequently, the investigation results of the public security organs also confirmed the suspicion of the procuratorial organs. Xiaopeng committed theft again during the period of residential surveillance. What happened? Liu Qingsong stated that the investigation by the public security organs showed that Xiaopeng was suspected of other thefts, three times, and had stolen the doorplate. The amount of stolen goods was close to 3000 yuan. Originally, during the period of residential surveillance, the investigating department helped Xiaopeng find a job installing doorplates in the hallway. They thought that this job of helping the community would help him better integrate into society, but unexpectedly, Xiaopeng turned around and stole and sold these doorplates. The repeated act of theft indicates that Xiaopeng did not truly realize his mistake, and at the same time, his parents did not strengthen their discipline on him as promised. The procuratorial organs believe that only by punishing minors for such crimes in accordance with the law can they truly be saved. In December 2024, the People's Procuratorate of Hechuan District, Chongqing changed the compulsory measures in accordance with the law and made an arrest decision for Xiaopeng. Adhere to the policy of education, persuasion, and rescue, pay attention to precise assistance. After Xiaopeng was arrested, the handling of this case did not end