112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERSCOMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN CORRECTIONSIN HONG KONG
Tai Kin-man*
I. INTRODUCTION
This paper proposes to outline andevaluate the current community
involvement in corrections in Hong Kong.
It will focus on corrections under the penal
jurisdiction i.e. the Correctional Services
Department, and the community based
corrections like probation and community
service orders, which come under the Social
Welfare Department in Hong Kong.
There are at any time over twenty NonGovernment Organizations involved in thework of the correctional system in HongKong. They are dominated by religiousorganizations which mostly engage inevangelistic activities. There are others
which provide reintegration support,
prison visits and counseling services. The
Society for the Rehabilitation of Offenders
in particular is dedicated to help exprisoners’ reintegration. It bridges a
service gap for adult prisoners most ofwhom, unlike the young offenders or drug
addicts, do not have the benefit of statutory
aftercare supervision. The Prisoners’
Friends’ Association on the other hand isdedicated to providing prison visits
primarily to those prisoners who do notreceive visits from relatives or friends.
There are some 80 members, of whom some
two-thirds come from the expatriate
community. They can only cater for afraction of the total demand.
Apart from Non-Government
Organizations, private individuals from thecommunity also involve themselves in* Superintendent of Hong Kong Correctional Services
Department, Hong Kong.

diverse ways. Services and activities range
from evening education classes, hobby
classes, sports training, recreation,
presentation of certificates and character
training. Most involve the young offender
programmes which place great emphasison character training and reintegration.
The powerful media has a role too. It has
a lot to contribute in promoting publicawareness of and influencing public
attitudes towards the goals of offenders’rehabilitation. The Hong Kong
Correctional Service does recognize thepotential for the community to become
involved in the work of corrections. It
welcomes and actively seeks such
involvement.
A. Background
The Correctional Services Department
in Hong Kong now operates 21 penal
institutions of all types. These include
male and female prisons, reception centres,
training centres for boys and girls,
detention centre for young males, and drug
addiction treatment centres. There are
currently some 11,423 inmates in all
categories.
Inmates discharged from training
centres, detention centres and drug
addiction treatment centres, as well as
young prisoners discharged from prison,
are subject to statutory supervision.
Aftercare officers provide throughcare
during custody and supervision. Aftercare
service is available to adult prisoners on amore limited basis under two statutory
schemes.1
Welfare officers are available in every

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
prison and reception centre to look after
the welfare needs of all convicted andremand prisoners. Apart from the limited
minority who are placed under statutory
supervision schemes, adult prisoners
having completed their sentence do nothave the benefit of an aftercare service.
The service gap is basically filled by nongovernment organizations.
II. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN
CORRECTIONAL WORK
A. Non-Government Organizations(NGOs)
There are at any time over twenty NGOs
involved in the work of the correctional
system in Hong Kong. A few are dedicatedto providing services to offenders. Many
have a religious background. A list of theNGOs currently involved is annexed to thispaper. Services provided by the NGOs
range from practical reintegration support
to prisoner visits, or evangelistic activities.
It is noteworthy that the field isdominated by religious bodies. They
include various Christian, Catholic,
Buddhist and Islamic denominations.
After all, offenders are more in need ofspiritual guidance for their reform, as wellas the spiritual strength, to cope with life
in custody. These religious bodies primarily
1

One is the Release Under Supervision Scheme, aparole scheme, which came into operation in 1988.
So far, less than 300 have been released under thisscheme. The other is the Post Release Supervision
Scheme, which has come into operation since
December 1996. This scheme is aimed at helping
the reintegration of certain categories of prisoners
who have completed their sentence. The prisoners
have either been sentenced to six years or more, orto a shorter term for specific gang related or sexual
or violent offences. A total of 1,142 prisoners havebeen brought under this scheme as at 15/3/1999
and the success rate of those expired cases is
97.46%.

216

engage in evangelistic activities, theirmembers visiting various institutions on aregular basis to hold religious services andseeing individual prisoners. Some alsoorganize recreation and entertainment for
the general prison community on holidays
and festive occasions.
One of the largest NGO’s dedicated to
the field of corrections is the Hong Kong
Society for the Rehabilitation of Offenders(SRO). This is a government subventedorganization with a long history of
association with the system of corrections.
Its stated aims are to provide a professionalsocial work service for offenders anddischarged prisoners, as well as to establish
and maintain centres for case work,
counseling, accommodation, employment
rehabilitation and recreation for its
clientele. Its workers regularly visit
various penal institutions to introduce its
service to prisoners, especially those prior
to discharge. It is by far the single mostimportant NGO filling the service gap in
the reintegration of adult prisoners.
B. Prison Visitors
Under the Prison Rules, theCommissioner of Correctional Services
may, from time to time, appoint any person
interested in the welfare, reform andaftercare of prisoners to be a prison visitor.
Indeed, regular visitors from the NGOs are
so appointed and issued with prison passes.
Worthy of mention are members of the
Prisoners’ Friends’ Association. The
Association was first established in theearly eighties with the support of theCorrectional Services Department. The
object was to provide a service of regular
visits for prisoners who are in need offriendship with members of the outsidecommunity; basically those who do notreceive visits from relatives or friends.
Members of the Association come fromdifferent walks of life. Interestingly, some

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
two-thirds are expatriates of different
nationalities. This in part has to do with
its history. It more or less began withconcerns for expatriate prisoners who had
no visits and who were sociallyhandicapped amongst the local prisoners
because of the language barrier. The key
founding members also came from theexpatriate community. With an active
membership of some 80 persons, they canstill only meet with a fraction of the total
demand.2
There is perhaps also a cultural factor
in the lack of enthusiasm in the local
community for this kind of voluntary work.
Prisons and prisoners are still taboo tomany local people, let alone to go on prison
visits. Nonetheless, members of the
Association have been doing acommendable service in providing desolate
prisoners a link with community, and afriendship that helps ease the deprivationsof prison life. Such interactions areperhaps of greater benefit to the social andpsychological bearing of the prisoners than
one may readily recognize.
Another kind of prison visitor is the more
officious Justices of the Peace. It isprovided in the Prison Rules that two
visiting justices (one official and one
unofficial) shall visit each prison at least
once a fortnight. The official justices areappointed by virtue of their public office,normally of at least assistant director levelin various government branches anddepartments. The unofficial justices arepeople of good character and social
standing, appointed from a wide spectrumof the community.

2

A survey towards the end of 1998 found some 1,781
prisoners were not receiving visits from theirrelatives or friends, and about a third of thisnumber were catered for by members of the
Prisoners’ Friends’ Association.

Visiting justices are charged with duties
to promote the efficiency of the service, toreport abuses, to hear and investigate
complaints, to protect the general wellbeing of prisoners and to advise on theindustrial employment and occupation,with particular relation to theiremployment on discharge.
The regular visits by justices havebecome an established part of prison life.
Not only do they present a channel for
prisoners to ventilate grievances, they also
demonstrate a kind of community interest
and presence. Given the diverse
background and experience of the justices,
their advice is highly valued and often
provides the spur for improvement in thework of corrections.
C. Personal Encounters with
Prisoners
The objectives of the scheme of personalencounters with prisoners are two-fold:through exposure to personal experiencesof serving prisoners, the “youth at risk”
may develop insight which will become new
guidelines for their behaviour. The project
may also serve the reciprocal purpose of
inducing positive changes amongst theprisoners concerned and may, in the longrun, facilitate their rehabilitation.
Target groups participating in thisproject include students between Form 2
and Form 6, or aged between 13 and 18;
clients of outreach social work teams; andyoungsters displaying maladjusted
behaviour. The project represents a
concerted effort in preventing juvenile
delinquency. The support of schools, youth
centres and parents to the project are
determinant factors to its success.
D. Community Services
Other activities to encourage community
involvement include community service
programmes for young inmates, such as the217

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme,
Outward Bound, Scouting, etc. Continuous
efforts are being made to involve moretraining centre inmates in these activities
as community reintegration programmesof the department. In addition, CSD has
been arranging for more inmates to takepart in personalised social services for theelderly and the mentally or physicallydisabled before discharge. The Department
has also sought assistance from the Hong
Kong Council of Social Services to identify
more interested welfare agencies forsupport. The scouts training was set up a
decade ago with the personal and financial
support of a few dedicated individuals who
have maintained their sterling support tothis date.
III. CREATING AND SUSTAININGTHE INTEREST OF THE
COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT
IN CORRECTIONS
A. General
Correctional services in Hong Kong aims
to provide a disciplined but humane
environment where inmates can receive
appropriate counseling, educational andvocational training, and where they can
prepare themselves to return to society as
law-abiding citizens upon release. Since ittakes time for the community to see howmuch the correctional programmes canachieve, the positive aspects of correctional
work has often been under-assessed, if not
totally ignored. In the worst case,correctional work often encounters adverse
criticism where the public tends toassociate correctional services with media
reports on prison riots and escapes.
There are some ideas on soliciting public
interest and support for correctional
services in Hong Kong. This has a lot to dowith promoting public awareness of andinfluencing public attitudes towards theobjective of rehabilitating offenders.

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Means of achieving this end include thedevelopment and enhancement of
rehabilitation based programmes, adopting
measures to improve correctionscommunity relations and encouraging
community involvement in correctionalwork.
B. Development and Enhancementof Rehabilitation Based
Programmes
The commitment on the part of theCorrectional Services Department (CSD) of
the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region to rehabilitation is clearly
demonstrated by the level of resources thathas gone into prison workshops,
educational and vocational training, andparole systems. In the financial year 19971998, HK$434.1 million has been allocatedto rehabilitation programmes, representing
17.4% of the total expenditure of the
Department.
1. Rehabilitation Programmes of CSD
The Department has developed a whole
range of rehabilitation programmes andservices for offenders which are being
implemented. Different rehabilitation
programmes and supervision schemes
address the rehabilitative needs ofoffenders in different kinds of institutions,such as prisons, detention centres, training
centres and drug addiction treatment
centres. Education programmes not only
provide intellectual training to prisoners,
but also serves as a channel for them totouch base with the community. These
programmes include evening education
classes, correspondence courses and selfstudy programmes which lead to accredited
academic qualifications. Aftercare service
is another major aspect of therehabilitation programmes whichfacilitates released inmates’ smoothtransition from custody to freedom,through strict supervision conditions, job
placement and guidance to strengthen the

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
confidence of the offenders. At present, therehabilitation programme is carried out by
200 professionally qualified CSD officers
in different institutions. Over the years,
the rehabilitation programmes have
evolved and developed. The Department
also has its prison chaplains who pay
regular visits to prisoners to provide themwith spiritual guidance and reintegration
support.
2. Research on the Effectiveness of
Rehabilitation for Young Offenders
In April 1996, the City University ofHong Kong was commissioned by theStanding Committee on Young Offenders(SCOYO) of the Fight Crime Committee(FCC) to conduct a one-year evaluation on
the effectiveness of rehabilitation
programmes for young offenders, an areaof considerable public interest. The
evaluation covers rehabilitation
programmes currently run by CSD and theSocial Welfare Department (SWD). Areasof study relating to CSD includes detention
centres, training centres, youth prisons andhalfway houses. The overall objectives are:• to estimate the functions,characteristics, content, duration andresource input of existing
rehabilitation programmes for young
offenders;• to measure the programmes’
effectiveness upon the young
offenders’ completion of treatment;• to identity factors relating to thesuccess or failure of the programmes;• to find out favourable or unfavourable
conditions in the implementation ofrehabilitation programmes; and• to assess the quality, effect andservice gaps in existing rehabilitation
programmes based on the responsesof young offenders and theprofessionals involved in providing
the programmes and in sentencing
offenders.

The research found, on the whole, highsatisfaction levels in areas including
aftercare services and officers, throughcare
services, education, vocational/prevocational training, physical, social andmental health. The research has,nevertheless, recommended 30 sets ofrecommendations to strengthen areas,
including educational training, vocational
training, services for the families of young
offenders, community reintegration,
throughcare, half-way houses and a
proposed short-term residential
programme. These recommendations are
now being followed through by the newly
established Rehabilitation Division of theCSD, which formulates strategies for the
long-term development of rehabilitation
programmes and aftercare services, and tobetter co-ordinate the provision of these
programmes and services for both young
and adult offenders.
C. Measures to Improve
Corrections-Community
Relations
1. The Public Relations Unit
The inception of the Public Relations
Unit (PRU) in CSD has played a significant
role in improving corrections-community
relations. A better public information
service, with greater transparency, has
become the norm in the public sector. It is
recognised that the public has the right toknow, though sometimes only out of
curiosity, the process of rehabilitation. On
the other hand, the department is also
making use of every opportunity to informthe public of its operations in order toenhance departmental image.
The functions of the PR Unit include
disseminating information to the media via
press releases, arranging interviews withsenior management staff on specific topics
relating to the Department, and organisingpress visits to penal institutions. Media
contribution in shaping public opinion,

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
values and attitudes (towards creating a
positive image of the Department) arenotable. CSD is well aware of this potential
and so works closely with the local media
through its PR Unit.
Press conferences, press statements andmedia visits to penal institutions are themeans to inform the community on thework of corrections, and help promote a
more positive public image of the
Department. On the other hand, major PR
events such as the Department’s annual
parade, autumn fair, scout rally and Staff
Training Institute (STI) open day, whichforms part of the recruitment campaign,
are organised for the public. The openingof new facilities, education certificate
presentation ceremonies, and prison visitsby prominent public figures also provide
good publicity. These activities assume
profound significance in linking thecommunity with the Department and help
to shape public attitudes towards thenature and goals of correctional work.
Since January 1998, information about
CSD ranging from historical events, facts
and statistics, news and events ofindividual institutions on special topics
relating to prison development projects canbe accessed through the Department’s
homepage on the Internet. This provides
an additional channel to communicate withthe public who may be interested in thework of the Department.
2. The Complaints Investigation Unit
On the operations side, the setting up of
the Complaints Investigation Unit (CIU)a s t h e D e p a r t m e n t ’s i n d e p e n d e n tmechanism to redress grievances frominmates, staff and the public, is anothermeasure to enhance correctionscommunity relations. The creation of theUnit, which is headed by an AssistantCommissioner and staffed by teams of
trained officers, is expected to inspire

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greater public confidence in theimpartiality of complaints investigation.
IV. SERVICES FOR OFFENDERSPROVIDED BY THE SOCIALWELFARE DEPARTMENT
A. Objective
Offenders’ rehabilitative measures, to beeffective, should incorporate means toguide them onto the right track, prevent
them from committing crimes again, andassist them to start afresh so that they can
become not only lawful citizens, but also
contributing members of society. The
overall objective of the services foroffenders is to help them become lawabiding citizens and reintegrate into thecommunity. This is achieved through bothcommunity-based and residential services,adopting social work approaches. It is
hoped that through proper supervision,counseling, academic, pre-vocational andsocial skills training, the offenders will beequipped with the necessary skills to deal
with life demands.
B. Means
This objective is achieved through thefollowing means :• discharging statutory responsibility;• probation service;• administering community service
orders;• community support services;• remand home services;• residential training services;• improvement measures; and• assisting the magistrates through theYoung Offender Assessment Panel.
C. Statutory Responsibilities
The Department is responsible fordischarging statutory functions within theframework of the following ordinances :• Juvenile Offenders Ordinance, Cap.
226

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS• Probation of Offenders Ordinance,
Cap. 298• Community Service Orders
Ordinance, Cap. 378• Reformatory Schools Ordinance, Cap.
225
• Protection of Children and Juveniles
Ordinance, Cap. 213• Immigration Ordinance, Sec. 35(1) ofCap. 115
D. Probation Service
During 1996/97, 162 probation officers
served all the magistracies, the District
Courts and the High Court, as welfare
agencies. The Department prepares social
inquiry reports on offenders, long term
prisoners and petition cases. These reports
provide information on the offender ’s
background to facilitate the court’s andconcerned parties’ decision on suitablesentencing options for disposal of theoffenders.
Probation officers also supervise
offenders (of all ages), who are placed on
probation, to comply with the requirementsof the probation order. 12,520 probation
officer’s reports were produced and 7,643
clients were served in 1996/97. Out of the3,659 cases completed, 2,779 probationers(75.9%) satisfactorily complied with thec o n d i t i o n s o f t h e o r d e r. T h e 8 8 0
probationers who failed to comply with therequirements of their probation orders
were referred back to the courts for resentencing.
To p r o m o t e g r e a t e r c o m m u n i t yinvolvement in the rehabilitation of
offenders, volunteers (under the Volunteer
Scheme for Probationers) befriended 71
probationers/residents of correctional
homes and helped them carry out activities
and programmes to serve the community.

E. Community Support Service
SchemeA pilot community support service
scheme was introduced in December 1994
to help rehabilitate juvenile offenders
through a community-based treatment
programme. The programme provides
structured day-training, such as socialgroups, community service projects, job
training packages and counseling groups,
to stimulate young offenders’ interest in
school or work and to develop their social
skills. During 1996/97, groups were formedfor 312 probationers/dischargees ofresidential homes for juvenile offenders,and 155 family members.
F. Community Service Orders
A community service order may be madeagainst an offender of or over 14 years ofage convicted of an offence punishable withimprisonment. The offenders perform
unpaid work of benefit to the community
for a number of hours, not exceeding 240,
within a period of 12 months. The
probation officers will assess the suitabilityof the offenders for performing such work,
as a rehabilitation/sentencing option.
During 1996/97, 2268 social inquiries
were conducted and 882 orders were made.
Out of 745 cases completed, 662 (88.9%)
offenders satisfactorily rehabilitatedthemselves through the 105 group projects
and 15 single placements organized in 112
centres of NGOs and government
departments.
G. Post-Release Supervision of
Prisoners Scheme
The Post-Release Supervision of
Prisoners Scheme commenced operation in
December 1996. It is implemented jointly
by staff from the Correctional Services
Department and the Social Welfare
Department to provide statutory
supervision for certain categories ofdischarged adult prisoners. The officers

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
conduct interviews with the prisoners inpenal institutions well before theirdischarge to prepare them for their returnto the community, and to pay regular visits
to the supervisees at their home/workplace
to help them rehabilitate and reintegrate
into society. Employment, accommodation,
financial assistance, and counseling arerendered. During 1996/97, 141 exprisoners have been placed on supervision.
H. Remand Home/Place of Refuge
ServiceChildren and juveniles who require
short-term remand/place of refuge facilities
are now accommodated in Pui Yin Juvenile
Home, Begonia Road Boys’ Home, Pui Chi
Boys’ Home and Ma Tau Wei Girls’ Home,
which provided 281 places and had a totalof 3746 2new admissions in 1996/97.
These homes provide temporary custody,
assessment and care to offenders aged 7 to
16, illegal immigrants aged 8 to 18, andchildren/juveniles in need of care orprotection aged 8 to 18, including children/
juveniles with a physical disability aged 9
to 18, and those with a mental disability
aged 5 to 18.
Various kinds of developmental andtherapeutic activities, e.g handicrafts,
domestic skills, family life education, social
skills, etc, are arranged to keep theresidents meaningfully occupied during
their stay in the homes. Young offenders
requiring residential training are

NatureProbation Home

Probation Hostel
Reformatory School

222

accommodated in the below-listed homes.
I. Residential Homes for Offenders
The period of placement in probation
homes/hostels ranges from six to twelve
months, with a period of aftercare
supervision in the community. The periodof reformatory school training ranges fromtwelve to eighteen months, followed witheighteen months of aftercare supervisionin the community. Counseling and training
programmes in academic studies,
prevocational and social skills are provided.
There were 305 new admissions in 1996/
97. The reprovisioning project for Begonia
Road Boys’ Home (to improve service
standards) is under smooth progress. The
construction work is anticipated to becompleted in 1998/99.
J. Young Offender Assessment
Panel
The Young Offender Assessment Panelis a special board with panel members
drawn from the Department and theCorrectional Services Department toprovide co-ordinated professional views tomagistrates in the sentencing of young
offenders aged 14 to 25.
In 1996/97, 55 magistrates and sevenjudges made a total of 473 referrals to the
Panel. 462 panel cases were disposed ofb y m a g i s t r a t e s a n d t h e p a n e l ’s
recommendations to the courts had an
acceptance rate of 84.2%.

Name
Begonia Road Boys’ Home
Fanling Girls’ Home
O Pui Shan Boys’ Home
Kwun Tong Hostel
O Pui Shan Boys’ Home
Castle Peak Boys’ Home

Capacity
80
20
48
60
48
75

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
V. SUMMARY
The benefits of community involvement
in corrections are manifold. First andforemost is the tapping of community
resources. They include not only the direct
human resources, but also theprofessionalism and the organization
which allows such resources to be used tob e s t e f f e c t . Wi t h o u t c o m m u n i t yinvolvement, the government will either
have to directly or indirectly provide
resources, or accept that such services will
not be provided at all, or provided on a
reduced level or scale. Even if thegovernment is prepared to substitutecommunity resources, it may not be as costeffective because it is not geared to provide
particular kinds of services.
Secondly, the very nature and diversityof community involvement is not what
government officials and money candeliver. The effects on, and acceptance by,prisoners are peculiar to the people
involved, by the very fact of their being
members of the community or particularsectors of the community. Thirdly, the more
extensive community involvment incorrections, the greater the community
awareness of issues of corrections, and themore likely community attitudes will
support offenders’ rehabilitation.
The Hong Kong Correctional Services iswell aware of the benefits of community
involvement. It welcomes such
involvement and it does everything
possible to support and facilitate such
involvement. It is also constantly watchingout for new opportunities to enlist greatercommunity involvement. Having said allthat, it must be conceded that the current
extent of involvement by the local
community is still relatively limited. Whatcan be done is limited by the community
resources actually available and to a far
greater extent, the prevailing attitudes of
the community at large. Hong Kong isrenowned for its materialism and brisk
pace of life, rather than for its community
spirit. Doing voluntary work for offenders
is not the dream of many and community
attitudes do not change overnight.
Looking ahead, the Hong Kong
Correctional Services should continue tobuild on the community involvement it has
already secured and to actively promote
community awareness of the goals ofcorrections and the role the community can
play.
List of NGOs involved in the
Correctional System inHong Kong
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.

The Society for the Rehabilitationof Offenders Hong Kong
Prisoners’ Friends’ Association
Caritas Lok Heep ClubThe Hong Kong Christian Kun Sun
Association Limited
International Social Service Hong
Kong Branch
Shuval Israel Centre
The Alliance Bible Seminary
Student Evangelistic Band
Christian Prison Pastoral
Fellowship
Hophzibah Evangelistic Centre
Aberdeen East Congregation
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Mother of Good Counsel Parish
Lotus Buddhist Association
Hong Kong Buddhist Association
Hong Kong Ling Yan Pentecostal
Holiness Church
Good Shepherd Siaitere
Buddhist Library of China
Pentecostal Church of Hong Kong
Christian & Missionary Alliance
Church Union of Hong Kong
The Leprosy Mission
The Islamic Union of Hong Kong
Land of Virtue Buddhist Centre
St. Augustine Youth Association
Canossian Micsrons
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