Measures needed to help migrant workers avoid crime
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A senior court official has called for stronger measures to help the new generation of migrant workers better integrate into society and prevent them from committing crimes.
Shi Yongcai, chief justice of the Yangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu Province, made the comment after court statistics revealed that the new generation of migrant workers was responsible for 32.84 percent of the total number of criminal cases handled by the court in 2009, the Nanjing-based Yangtze Evening Post reported yesterday.
The new generation of migrant workers mainly refers to those who were born in the 1980s or 1990s. There are about 100 million young migrant workers in cities, which accounts for 60 percent of the country's 150 million migrant workers. Most convicted migrant workers have committed burglary or sex related crimes. Many of them are aged under 25.
A 28-year-old migrant worker surnamed Wang, who has just a junior middle school education, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment and fined 3,000 yuan ($450) for joining an organization known as the Chinese Internet Marketing Bloc, which swindled members out of their money, the report said.
Shi suggested that more attention should be paid to the needs of young migrant workers, the report said.
Shi said the government should improve the social welfare system and education services for migrant workers.
