Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has witnessed a surge in juvenile delinquency with adolescents making up 23 percent of the 408 offenders seized in the first half of last year.

This is a sharp rise from 19.5 percent in 2005 and 14.2 percent in 2000, according to figures provided by the regional public security department.

Though figures are still not available for the whole of 2006, a public security department spokesman said the majority of the 94 juvenile delinquents seized in the first six months were accused of robbery or theft.

Nearly 70 percent of the juvenile suspects seized in 2005 were detained on robbery charges, and at least 50 percent of them were gang members, he said.

The number of homeless children committing a crime doubled in the five years between 2000 and 2005, the spokesman said without giving detailed figures.

To make matters worse, hostile forces have encouraged antisocial kids to take part in splittist activities, he said without elaborating.

Experts with the local women's federation have attributed the rising juvenile delinquency rates in Xinjiang to diverse reasons, including a lack of family love, drugs and Internet addiction and above all, a lack of effective intervention at home and school.

They called for an early establishment of a juvenile research body in Xinjiang to investigate and analyze juvenile problems and advise policymakers on these issues.

The local government should also provide shelter to homeless kids, help them solve crises and protect them from committing crimes, they said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2007)