VietNamNet Bridge – Thirty per cent of juvenile crimes were committed by young people in rural areas, the Ministry of Public Security said at a recent workshop on measures to increase understanding of the law for rural and ethnic youth.

Nearly 60 per cent of criminal cases had been committed by young people aged between 16-18 years old, participants heard at the workshop organised by the youth union of Viet Nam Farmers Association.

Insufficient knowledge of the law, joblessness and an early drop-out were listed as major reasons for the trend.

To Tuan Dat, an official at the Viet Nam Farmers Association's Legal Consultancy Centre, said a number of young people aged over 25 had committed crimes while being unemployed.

He said other root causes for crime in rural areas included gambling, binge-drinking and disputes relating to money lending, particularly among people aged 28-35.

A recent survey conducted by the Viet Nam Farmers Association in several northern mountain districts found legal knowledge among most ethnic people remained low.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao from the Education and Information Centre under the Viet Nam Farmers Association attributed the trend to remote and isolated terrain in mountain areas, which caused difficulties in disseminating information through the loudspeaker system to locals.

Problems caused by isolation are compounded by centuries-old customs which are not in line with existing law and regulations.

Hoang Tung from the Association's Nationalities, Religion and Security Committee said information dissemination and law education were too limited in many areas.

The content of information provided had not yet been adjusted to improve understanding for different groups in each province, he added.

Participants at the workshop unanimously agreed that measures must be taken to reserve the situation.

Dat told Viet Nam News that mobile legal consultancy teams would start travelling to rural and mountain areas to provide legal education to young people early next year, while measures to create non-agricultural jobs for young people in these areas would continue, despite being hampered by a shortage of funds.

Vu Duy Hung from the Social Affairs, Family and Population Committee said the committee had co-ordinated with the Ministry of Public Security's Drugs and Crime Standing Office to educate 5,000 farmers each year about the harm of drugs.

To increase efficiency, he suggested holding competitions for young rural people to compete on their understanding of the law at meetings of youth unions in different provinces.

Thao, however, emphasised the need to study and diversify law education methods for young people in rural and mountain areas.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News