Research on delinquency in China shows that the proportion of young offenders to all criminals is on the decrease, whilst the proportion of minor delinquents to young offenders is increasing in recent years (Guo, 2002). From the end of 2001 to the beginning of 2002, the China Youth and Children Research Center conducted a nationwide survey on the minor delinquent population. The sample was selected from a pool of all minors (who were under 18 years old at the time the crime was committed) in custody at the end of 2001. Using clustered sampling techniques, 2,752 valid cases were collected from ten provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. Of these cases, 1,366 were from rural areas and 1,386 from urban areas (China Youth and Children Research Center, 2002). This chapter provides a description of characteristics of juvenile delinquency so as to draw attention to this social issue.
