Controlling the Application of Short-term Imprisonment and Strategies for Dealing with Petty Crime

In the face of the reality of the era of petty crimes, recent legislative activities and judicial practices have adjusted the concept of governing crimes. However, the current governance strategy of extensively applying short-term imprisonment, such as criminal detention and fixed-term imprisonment of up to three years for crimes such as dangerous driving, helping information network criminal activities, and police assault, is not appropriate. A large amount of research at home and abroad has fully revealed the drawbacks of short-term imprisonment. In this regard, it is necessary to carefully review the actual situation of crime occurrence, combine the basic concept of punishment, learn from foreign countries’ successful experience in achieving effective social governance without relying on short-term imprisonment, and promptly make major adjustments to the basic governance strategy. For a large number of petty crimes, the procuratorial organs can handle them by not prosecuting; for cases that enter the trial link, the court should sentence the defendant to fixed-term imprisonment of up to three years and simultaneously declare a suspended sentence; in addition, petty crimes can be handled by imposing fines or exempting from criminal punishment, thereby greatly reducing the imprisonment of criminals and concretely implementing the criminal policy of combining leniency with strictness in petty crime governance.