BEIJING -- The rate of arrest and prosecution of minors in China has fallen over the past three years, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP).

In 2015, prosecutors exempted 14,499 criminal suspects below the age of 18 from arrest, or 29.41 percent of all minor suspects, up from 25.23 percent and 26.66 percent in 2013 and 2014, respectively, the SPP said in a press conference on Friday.

Meanwhile, 4,954 minors, or 8.43 percent of the total, were exempt from prosecution in 2015, compared to 6.6 percent and 7.34 percent in 2013 and 2014.

"Since the Changning District People's Procuratorate in Shanghai set up our country's first special prosecution group for minors in 1986, we've fostered a team of prosecutors who abide by prosecution rules specializing in dealing with minors," said SPP spokesman Wang Songmiao.

Prosecutors have used methods such as community surveys, meetings with families, legal aid, sealing criminal records and psychological intervention to strengthen protection of minors in case management.

SPP figures show that, between 2003 and 2015, a total of 160,000 minor suspects were exempt from arrest and 50,000 from prosecution.

"Prosecutors prefer education to judicial punishment when it comes to minor suspects, and we are very careful when deciding to arrest and prosecute them so that juveniles who have committed or been victims of crimes can return to their families and society," Wang added.?