Secretary for Security officiates at CSD's "Mission in Prison" opening ceremony (with photos)
15.1.2021

The Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, and the President of the Care of Rehabilitated Offenders Association (CROA), Mr Wong Kin-keung, officiated at the Correctional Services Department's (CSD) community education programme "Mission in Prison" opening ceremony today (January 15) at Ma Hang Prison in Stanley and witnessed the kick-off of the programme. Introduced under the Rehabilitation Pioneer Project (RPP), "Mission in Prison" is a new programme based on the concept of escape room activity with elements of role-playing, problem-solving and team-building, which simulates various emergencies and daily situations confronted by CSD staff to bring young people the most authentic learning experience. Incorporated with the concept of Smart Prison, "Mission in Prison" has 18 checkpoints. With the aid of smart applications on tablets, participants will become correctional officers to carry out various tasks to deter illegal activities organised by persons in custody and formulate a rehabilitative programme for them to turn over a new leaf. Through the programme, participants are expected to deepen their understanding towards the duties of CSD staff and observe from another perspective the custodial environment and livelihood so as to be aware of the dire consequences of committing crimes. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Lee said that the CSD's RPP has consistently collaborated with many social service organisations to hold diverse activities to cultivate students' development of positive values, sense of responsibility, and to help them become law-abiding citizens. The department upholds the belief of "correction" and "education" to lead young persons in custody to reflect, correct and equip themselves to start a new journey of life. Mr Wong said, "This year, the CROA donated $1 million to the CSD to jointly organise 'Mission in Prison', providing a unique crime prevention learning experience for participants at a real prison. Educational messages are disseminated to participants during after-activity evaluation to deepen their understanding towards crime prevention and rehabilitation." He reiterated that the CROA has all along been promoting rehabilitative messages to all sectors of society, helping persons in custody to rehabilitate in order not to repeat the same mistake, and playing a role in maintaining social order. The CSD has earlier promoted "Mission in Prison" in different events and during school visits. More stakeholders and schools will be invited to participate in the programme. In addition, the Department will open the programme for application by teams formed by individual students on a trial basis in phases so as to reach out to more young people and cultivate positive values among them. The CSD launched the RPP in 2008 and collaborated with various schools and social services organisations to hold diverse learning activities, including the establishment of the uniform group "Rehabilitation Pioneer Leaders" in 2018 to disseminate to young people the messages of leading a law-abiding, drug-free life and supporting the rehabilitation of offenders. The CSD hopes that they can understand the heavy price paid for committing crimes. Since the introduction of the RPP, about 70 per cent of secondary schools in Hong Kong have participated in the activities, with nearly 400,000 participants including youths and educators. Such participation rate definitely shows the wide support of society and schools.