Procuratorial organs have intensified the investigation and crackdown on sexual assaults against minors using big data analysis to promptly obtain evidence, according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
Prosecutors have paid close attention to the daily scenarios related to juveniles without adequate protection and capitalised on the big data model to break data barriers to search for clues, said Na Yanfang, head of the ninth procuratorial office of the SPP.
They also learned about social governance loopholes behind juvenile cases and promoted governance at the source via legal supervision functions and prosecution, she said.
The SPP on Thursday issued a document of typical cases that utilized big data analysis to strengthen the protection of juveniles, covering aspects such as school bus safety, mandatory reporting of cases involving minors and illegal acceptance of minors into places unsuitable for them.
In one case that occurred in Huzhou, Zhejiang province in 2021, a then nine-year-old girl was taken to a hospital after her mother found that her lower body was red and swollen. She claimed she was bullied by others. The doctor asked the mother whether she had reported the case to the police, to which the mother said she would call the police later.
However, no call to the police was made because the suspect was actually a relative. The hesitation caused the loss of part of the evidence in the following investigation.
Since the implementation of the system for the mandatory reporting of cases involving minors to police in May 2020, prosecutors in Huzhou found that there were many cases where individuals or departments required to make the report failed to do so, and that the reporting rate and discovery rate of sexual assault cases against minors were low.
In December 2021, through big data model analysis, prosecutors found that the city had a number of abnormal diagnoses and treatment records involving minors in the past two years. They then carried out a special supervision operation in the city to earnestly implement the mandatory reporting system.
Prosecutors obtained information about the abnormal diagnosis and treatment of minors, and screened out clues of infringements that had not been mastered by judicial organs due to failure to make mandatory reports.
They then transferred the clues of suspected sexual assault to police, sent orders urging minors’ guardians to fulfil their duties, and worked with local departments to rectify the problems. — China Daily/ANN
