The Ministry of the Interior is planning a three-tier strategy to combat a trend of growing adolescent crime, which would involve multiple agencies across different tiers, the ministry said during the weekly Executive Yuan meeting yesterday.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) pledged to spend NT$7.6 billion (US$231.8 million) over four years until 2028 to prevent adolescent crime.
The ministry report said that adolescent crime over the past decade has grown, with most perpetrators aged between 15 and 18.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
Fraud is the primary type of crime among this group, the ministry said.
The proposed three-tier strategy aims to reduce how families, the economy and peers influence adolescents to commit criminal behavior.
“Adolescents aged 15 to 18 are more prone to joining criminal organizations if they do not continue their studies,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Cho as saying during the meeting.
He also instructed relevant agencies to track the whereabouts and performance of young people in an attempt to prevent them — especially those from disadvantaged families — from being involved with criminal organizations, she said.
Government agencies should step up measures to work together to ensure the policy’s realization, Lee quoted the premier as saying.
Cho tapped Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) and ministers without portfolio Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) and Shih Che (史哲) to work with competent authorities, and draft laws and regulations that would provide a legal basis for organizations to care for and offer consultation to adolescents, she said.
According to National Police Agency Deputy Director-General Chen Yung-li (陳永利), the first tier would focus on spreading information targeting adolescents to avoid criminal behaviors.
The second tier would focus on adolescents with a history of errant behavior and step up consultations or visits to their families to encourage them to support the individual in question, Chen Yung-li said.
The final tier would focus on young people with a criminal history and help protect them, he said.
Such measures would also offer correctional education to prevent them from becoming repeat offenders, he added.
Ultimately, the goal is to reduce the number of young people breaking the law by 1 percent each year, Chen Yung-li said.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS