NCJ Number
134233
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 15 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: (Spring/Fall 1991) Pages: 15-32
Date Published
1991
Length
18 pages
Annotation
After a brief historical review of Chinese prisons, this article describes China's current corrections structure and correctional practices, followed by suggestions for improvement.
Abstract
After the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the Bureau of Prisons was established under the Ministry of Justice, which continues to be responsible for corrections administration. Correctional procedures were promulgated under the Act of the PRC for Reform Through Labor, which was enacted in 1954. Corrections and punishment are administered under a concept known as "reform through labor." Rehabilitation through education and labor is primary, and punishment is secondary. There are two rehabilitative regimes: "reform through labor" and "re-education through labor." Reform through labor is designed to punish and reform those offenders who have been sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment, life imprisonment, or a suspended death penalty. Re-education through labor involves coercive education and reform for those who violate the law and discipline of the social order or commit minor crimes that are not punishable by the Criminal Law of the PRC. The PRC has five types of correctional facilities that serve different correctional purposes: prisons, detention houses, reform-through-labor institutions, re-education-through-labor institutions, and juvenile reformatories. Although the PRC correctional system has been effective in turning many offenders into law-abiding citizens, the corrections system needs additional research upon which to build corrections policy, and corrections staff should have more professional and managerial training. 81 notes, 56 references, and an appended organizational chart for the corrections structure in the PRC