How to Handle When a Person Serving a Sentence in the Community Commits a New Crime?

How to Handle a Convict in the Community Committing a New Crime? (Illustrative Image)

In Circular 65/2019/TT-BCA, it is guided that when a convict in the community commits a new crime and is criminally prosecuted, the criminal judgment enforcement agencies of the district-level police and commune-level police must cooperate with the procedural authorities handling the case to collect and supplement documents into the enforcement file, management, supervision, and education dossier of the convict. Upon the conclusion of the procedural authorities, proceed as follows:

- If the convict is sentenced to imprisonment or death, hand over the management, supervision, and education dossier of the convict to the district-level criminal judgment enforcement agency. The district-level criminal judgment enforcement agency completes the procedure for reclassification, termination, and submission of the enforcement dossier for archiving as prescribed.

- If the convict is not sentenced to imprisonment or death, continue to organize enforcement according to regulations.

If an individual benefiting from a suspended sentence violates the obligations leading to mandatory serving of the prison sentence according to the suspended sentence decision, is conditionally released on parole but violates leading to the parole decision being revoked, or a convict having their prison sentence execution postponed or suspended, commits a new crime, flees, or violates the law causing adverse effects on security, order, and social safety, the commune-level police shall advise the Commune People's Committee to report to the district-level criminal judgment enforcement agency to execute the procedure to compel them to serve the prison sentence as regulated by the Law on Criminal Judgment Execution. In the event the convict flees, conduct a manhunt and organize apprehension.

For cases where the convict is sentenced to non-custodial reform, residential restriction, or probation and deliberately violates obligations that have been addressed but still continues to violate, the commune-level police shall advise the Commune People's Committee to propose competent authorities to prosecute criminal liability for the crime of non-compliance with the court judgment as prescribed in Article 380 of the Criminal Code.

Moreover, the process for review of violators benefiting from a suspended sentence, non-custodial reform, or conditionally released on parole is as follows:

- The commune-level police shall advise the Commune People's Committee to organize a review meeting. The participants include representatives of the Commune People's Committee (chair), representatives of the Vietnam Fatherland Front at the grassroots level, residential community representatives, commune-level police representatives, assigned commune-level police officers managing, supervising, and educating the convict (secretary), and the convict's relatives (if any).

- Meeting content: The chair briefs the meeting's content; the convict presents a self-review report, detailing the violation and corrective actions, efforts for improvement; meeting participants provide opinions; the chair concludes, consolidates the findings and disciplinary measures for the convict; drafts the meeting minutes signed by participants for archiving in the management, supervision, education file. The commune-level police advise the Commune People's Committee to report to the district-level criminal judgment enforcement agency on the review meeting (enclose the meeting minutes).

More details can be found in Circular 65/2019/TT-BCA, effective from January 15, 2020.

Thuy Tram

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