Hong Kong Report on Contemporary Issues in Corrections

Introduction

            This paper gives a brief description of the Hong Kong correctional system and highlights some of the latest correctional issues and developments of the Correctional Services Department (CSD).

Corrections in Hong Kong

            In Hong Kong, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is set at seven years of age.  Our criminal justice system seeks to achieve an appropriate balance between punishment and rehabilitation. A wide range of criminal sanctions and correctional programmes have been in place to fit the crime and suit the offender.   These can be divided into two broad categories – non-custodial and custodial.

            Non-custodial options comprise probation order, residential training in a Reformatory School, Community Service Order, fine, binding-over, discharge order and others (like disqualification, forfeiture and confiscation, restitution and compensation orders).

            Custodial options include imprisonment and detention in a Drug Addiction Treatment Centre/ Detention Centre/ Rehabilitation Centre/ Training Centre. The latter ones are alternatives to imprisonment to cater for the rehabilitative needs of drug addicts and young offenders respectively.  Custodial sanctions are administered by CSD.

            Article 6(1) of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Chapter 383 of the Laws of Hong Kong) has expressly provided that “All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.” Article 6(3) also states that “The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation.” 

            CSD, with an establishment of over 7 000 staff, is responsible for the administration of 28 correctional institutions of different types to keep offenders out of circulation in a secure but humane environment. These include prisons, a reception centre, Drug Addiction Treatment Centres, Training Centres, a Detention Centre, Rehabilitation Centres, a psychiatric centre, and institutions with multiple roles.  The Department also runs four half-way houses and a range of aftercare programmes and post-release supervision schemes for discharged offenders to help with their social reintegration. 

            For the year 2001, the overall crime rate (i.e., the number of crimes per 100 000 population) of Hong Kong is 1084, slightly lower than the previous year. The incarceration rate is around 170 per 100 000 population. The figure drops to 113 if the Chinese mainlanders and other nationals are excluded. There are some 12 000 inmates and 3 300 supervisees managed by the Department everyday.  Among the 12 000 inmates, 62% are local Chinese and 28% are mainlanders who entered Hong Kong either illegally or with a two-way permit.  The remaining 10% are other nationals including Vietnamese.  The ratio of males to females is about four to one.  Young offenders, i.e., those aged under 21, constitute about 11% of the penal population.

            The annual intake of sentenced persons rose from 17759 in 2000 to 20 859 in 2001, representing a 17% increase.  Of the 20 859 offenders admitted in 2001, 89% were sentenced to imprisonment.  Eight percent were sent to Drug Addiction Treatment Centres, which provide compulsory residential treatment for the cure and rehabilitation of both adult and young drug dependents found guilty of an offence punishable to imprisonment.  The remaining 1% were either admitted to our Detention Centre or Training Centres.[1]  The Detention Centre deals with offenders aged between 14 and under 25 who are at their early stage of deviation from law and order by exposing them to a “short, sharp shock” through the imposition of a regime of brisk discipline and hard work as deterrent.  The Training Centre, on the other hand, provides medium term reformative training for young offenders aged between 14 and under 21 who have advanced some way along their criminal career, but are not so criminally sophisticated as to be suitable for a prison sentence.

Latest Issues and Developments of Hong Kong Corrections

The introduction of Rehabilitation Centre programme

            In July 2002, a new Rehabilitation Centre programme came into operation.  It is a short-term correctional measure specially devised to cater for the rehabilitative needs of young offenders aged between 14 and under 21 whose crimes call for a short-term custodial sentence.  The programme is physically less demanding than the Detention Centre programme and provides an intermediate sanction between the longer-term Training Centre progamme run by CSD and the non-custodial measures.  Its features are as follows:

·           pre-sentence assessment of suitability for detention is required;

·           the detention period is indeterminate, ranging from three to nine months;

·           the programme consists of two phases, characterized by gradual intensification of autonomy and involvement in community-based reintegration activities;

·           in Phase I, the offender has to undergo two to five months’ discipline training in a correctional institution setting, which includes foot drill, vocational and educational training. Psychological service and counselling will be provided to enhance inmates’ social skills, help them exercise better self-control and develop a regular and healthy lifestyle;

·           the Phase II programme comprises a one to four months’ residence in a half-way house to address the reintegration needs of the offender in a more flexible and personalized way.  During the period, the offender is permitted to go out to undertake various kinds of community services, attend vocational/ educational training and for work;

·           the offender is subject to one-year statutory supervision upon release.

            There are four Rehabilitation Centres with a total capacity of 204.  Given that the Rehabilitation Centre programme is new to the court judges as well as our staff, CSD will closely monitor its operations and fine-tune the programme content and admission guidelines where and when necessary.

Community support and involvement in corrections

            To help offenders re-establish their lives after discharge and minimise their chance of re-offending is a primary objective of our correctional system.  In recent years, CSD has stepped up its efforts to solicit public acceptance and support for rehabilitated offenders, which is vitally important for the success of any reintegration programme. So far, positive feedback from the community has been received.  Responding to our call for assistance to rehabilitated offenders, a group of local dignitaries organised two charitable functions to raise money for the Prisoners’ Welfare Fund.  Over two million Hong Kong dollars (equivalent to about a quarter million US dollars) have been raised for the benefit of inmates and discharged offenders, e.g. providing financial assistance to discharged offenders for paying school/vocational training fees and setting up a telephone hotline to provide instant advice to them.  On the other hand, a number of NGOs and community groups which did not show interest in offenders’ rehabilitation in the past now approach the Department to offer services for offenders.

Transfer of Sentenced Persons

            To transfer a prisoner to his home country to continue his sentence in a familiar environment which is free form language and cultural barriers, accessible by his family and relatives and conducive to his rehabilitation is an established policy of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.  Transfer of sentenced persons is meant for rehabilitative sake, not as a means to cope with prison overcrowding.  Up to the last APCCA annual meeting, Hong Kong had signed bilateral agreements on Transfer of Sentenced Persons (TSP) with seven countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Sri Lanka, Italy, Thailand, Philippines and Portugal, and initialled text with France and Israel respectively. Although no new bilateral agreements with other jurisdictions have been concluded since then, Hong Kong has initialled text with Czech Republic.  Internally, we have started discussions with Macao on TSP arrangement between the two places.  Discussions with the Mainland authorities are also in progress.

            In the absence of a bilateral agreement, transfer of sentenced persons between Hong Kong and other countries is still possible. That being the case, each application will be processed on an ad hoc basis under the framework of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Ordinance (Chapter 513, Laws of Hong Kong).

Continuous improvement of service quality

            As a customer-oriented organisation, CSD is committed to providing quality custodial and rehabilitative services to meet the rising expectations of the general public and the stakeholders.  For instance, we have a video visit system installed in a town centre where aged, pregnant or physically disabled visitors can meet their family members being detained in institutions on outlying islands through video conferencing.  A visitors’ waiting block with modern facilities and a comfortable environment was also opened in Pik Uk Prison last year.  The waiting block provides an internal benchmark for other CSD institutions to improve their visitation facilities.

            Seeking external accreditation is a way to prompt us to keep pace with social changes, raise our service quality and gain public confidence.  Our commercial laundries obtained an ISO 9001:2000 certification in December 2001. It was the third similar accreditation attained following the certification of our sign making workshops in 1999 and the Complaints Investigation Unit in 2000.  This is an acknowledgement of the quality management approaches and improvements in organisational practices adopted by the Department.  Our commitment to meeting international standards is also found in the realm of environmental protection. The Hei Ling Chau Region[2] of CSD was newly certified to the ISO 14001:1996 standard in Environmental Management System on 26 July 2002, demonstrating our efforts to deliver correctional services in an environmentally responsible manner. We will continue to identify appropriate areas of work for external accreditation.

            In view of its increased emphasis and activities on quality management, the Inspectorate and Management Services Division of CSD has been renamed Quality Assurance Division since 1 January 2002 to more aptly reflect the functions of the Division.  To develop a quality assurance culture, a number of Principal Officer (Penal Management) posts have been created and these Principal Officers are deployed to penal institutions to help implement quality assurance initiatives and measures, conduct management studies, carry out quality management system inspections and identify quality loopholes for rectification.

            In pursuance of our commitment to a result-driven culture, we have also worked out a host of performance indicators. Grouped into four perspectives, i.e., mission, stakeholders, process, and organisation and staff perspectives, the performance indicators provide regular feedback to help the Department monitor its service quality and work performance.

Wider use of modern technology

            The use of modern technology has been recognised by CSD as a strategic lever to improve correctional administration and inmate management. The application of smart card technology in institutional patrol management is an instance out of many.  The “Prisoners Location Tracking System” and the “Automated Fingerprint Identification System” will be introduced soon.  The former employs the radio‑frequency-identification technology to offer real-time location tracking of inmates within penal institutions.   The latter makes use of the fingerprint biometrics technology to improve accuracy and efficiency in the identity verification of inmates.

            Meanwhile, actions are being taken to secure necessary funding for the enhancement of our computerised “Penal Record Information System”, which was designed nearly a decade ago, to make it more user-friendly and support Chinese characters. On the other hand, a “Rehabilitation Programmes Management System” is being developed to computerise the management of rehabilitative services administrated by our Aftercare Unit and our Pre-Sentence Assessment Panel Unit.  We apply IT in staff training as well.  A web-based e-learning system is under development to increase access to training and to encourage self‑enhancement for our staff members.  We are also exploring the feasibility of e‑workflow management to enhance administrative and operational efficiency.[3]

Professional exchanges with other jurisdictions

            Our commitment on professional exchanges with other jurisdictions as a vital step forward in developing best practices, enhancing organisational competence and achieving our vision continues to gain momentum.  In pursuance of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between CSD and the Correctional Service of Canada in March 2001, a programme of co-operation and joint activities comprising staff exchanges, research project, e-forum, etc., has commenced.  On the other hand, being an active member of the Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators, CSD has co-served with the Singapore Prison Service as secretariat to the organisation since its 21^st annual meeting.  CSD is also a member of the International Corrections and Prisons Association and the International Association of Paroling Authorities respectively.

Prison overcrowding

            Prison overcrowding has been a perennial issue confronting CSD. As at 26 July 2002, 12480 inmates were held in our penal institutions and the overall occupancy rate was 111%. The problem is particularly serious in female establishments, with Tai Lam Centre for Women, Victoria Prison (Female Section) and Chi Ma Wan Correctional Institution operating at 128%, 89% and 78% above capacity respectively.  Congestion is mainly due to an increase of Mainland Chinese prisoners who comprise 62% of the female penal population. The majority are admitted for breach of immigration regulations and will be repatriated back to the Mainland after serving their terms.  As regards the male facilities, the problem concentrates on maximum-security prisons with overcrowding rates ranging from 27% to 47%. 

            Severe overcrowding has caused strain on the essential services, programmes and facilities of the female institutions.  If we are to maintain a secure, safe and humane living environment, improvement to the situation appears to be mandatory, not optional. As an interim measure to meet the pressing need for additional female accommodation, suitable male facilities have been converted into female facilities.

            Recognising that the provision of appropriate and adequate facilities is an integral part of our correctional service for the proper detention of offenders and their effective rehabilitation, CSD perceives the need for a long-term prison development plan to address the perennial overcrowding problem, to meet projected shortfall in penal places and to improve archaic facilities in a comprehensive and cost-effective manner.   We are now soliciting community and the Administration’s support for a prison co‑location project of 7200 places featuring shared facilities and infrastructure to achieve economy of scale.  The project, if materialised, will expand the total penal capacity to 13860 which we think should be sufficient to meet the projected shortfall up to the year 2015.  We have yet to address a lot of concerns relating to funding arrangement, site selection[4] and the reactions from different social sectors.  We understand that prison congestion is not merely a numerical or spatial problem, but a problem that has its roots in societal values, government policy, law enforcement, sentencing and correctional practices.  How the problem is to be addressed depends much on how our criminal justice should be administered - who should be sent to prisons, for what purpose(s), for how long and what should be done on them.  This in term depends on the social, moral and political choices made by our society.

Conclusion

            Hong Kong is experiencing economic downturn and there is no immediate sign of recovery.  In such difficult times, we envisage that the priorities of public spending will go to funding economic relief measures that top the Administration’s agenda. While the Department is making every endeavour to improve its service quality, there will be increased difficulties in securing additional funding and resources. To cope with prison overcrowding and to provide quality services with limited resources are two major challenges to the Department. We will strive to make the best of the resources available, re-engineer our work processes and adopt appropriate quality assurance measures to keep on delivering quality custodial and rehabilitative services recognised internationally for excellence.