The aim of CSD's rehabilitative services and programmes is to facilitate the re-integration of offenders into the community as law-abiding citizens. We re-affirmed during the year that comprehensive rehabilitative services are one of the four critical success factors in building a safer and more inclusive society. The other factors are quality custodial services, offenders' responsivity and determination, and community support. With the Rehabilitation Division entering its 10th year of operation in 2007, we continued to move forward on many fronts.
We made good progress in implementating the Risks and Needs Assessment and Management Protocol for Offenders by introducing programme matching in inmate centres in January 2007 and for young prisoners in April 2007. We will continue to take forward this initiative which was introduced in October 2006, keeping in view its effectiveness and making sure its implementation is commensurate with the resource commitments.
On vocational training, our special efforts in recent years to enhance voluntary pre-release vocational training for adult offenders began to bear fruit. The follow up employment services provided by the Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention, Hong Kong since October 2006 revealed an overall employment rate of over 80% for rehabilitated offenders who had completed vocational training in adult offender institutions before release. Vocational training for offenders will remain a priority, and a plan to extend full-time pre-release vocational training to female adult offenders in 2008 is in the pipeline.
To capitalise on the 10th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Division which falls in January 2008, we systematically organised more than 10 publicity activities since August 2007 to appeal for public support for offender rehabilitation. The highlight is a TV variety show in January 2008. We will conduct a post-campaign public opinion survey to assess the effectiveness of these activities, and take account of the findings of the survey in mapping out the Department's future publicity strategy.
Looking ahead, we will continue to improve the services for offenders and rehabilitated offenders, engaging the public in this worthwhile cause where appropriate. A detailed account of the comprehensive services provided by the Division covering assessment, programme and welfare services, psychological services, education, vocational training and supervision services is set out in this Chapter.
Lee Sheung
Assistant Commissioner (Rehabilitation)
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Pre-sentence Assessment Services
Pre-sentence assessment is our first intervention in the rehabilitation of an offender as such assessment, including interviewing the offender, compiling a report on him, and finally advising the court as to his suitability for one of our rehabilitative programmes, is done before the offender is sentenced and treatment actually starts. We believe that by giving an offender the most appropriate treatment measure at the outset, it will help maximise his chance of rehabilitation and also save social resources in the long run. During the year, 17 assessment staff handled a total of 5 413 cases.
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Young Offender Assessment Panel
The Young Offender Assessment Panel has been formed to assist courts in the sentencing of young male offenders aged 14 to 24 and young female offenders aged 14 to 20. This administrative body is composed of professionals from the Correctional Services Department and the Social Welfare Department. It interviews all the young offenders referred by the court, forms a coordinated view, and makes a recommendation as to the most appropriate treatment programme for the case. In 2007, the Panel handled 261 referrals, of which 87% of its recommendations were accepted. |
Welfare and Counselling Services
We render welfare and counselling services to offenders right from their admission to correctional institutions, when they may be facing the most difficult time during custody. The main objective of the services is to cater for offenders' welfare needs, help them deal with their adjustment problems, and provide various rehabilitation programmes to meet their rehabilitative needs. Towards the end of their term, we will prepare them for release by providing them with pre-release counselling services and, if necessary, referring them to appropriate social welfare organisations for follow-up support and services. In 2007, we conducted 121 613 individual counselling sessions, 1 057 group counselling sessions, and
2 198 pre-release courses in the process. |
Psychological Services
A team of clinical psychologists and departmental officers trained in psychological work help inmates and prisoners change their offending behaviour and promote their psychological well-being. In 2007, 29 018 counselling sessions were conducted for this purpose. At the same time, 535 assessment reports were prepared for courts and related review boards to facilitate decisions on the rehabilitation of offenders.
We also continued our efforts in developing on-going programmes targeting offending behaviours. These included the Offending Behaviour Programme and Inmate-Parent Programme for young offenders, Violence Prevention Programme and Mental Health Programme for adult offenders, the Sex Offender Evaluation and Treatment Unit for sex offenders and substance abuse treatment programmes for inmates and prisoners with substance abuse problem.
To pave the way for an empirically based offender management and rehabilitation system, the Department introduced in 2006 a "Risks and Needs Assessment and Management Protocol for Offenders" for evaluating offenders' re-offending risk and rehabilitative needs. Specialised clinical measures for assessing the re-offending risks and rehabilitative needs for violent offenders, sex offenders and young offenders were also completed. |
Education
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| Prisoners attend computer training class. |
The Education Unit provides half-day compulsory education programmes for young offenders under the age of 2l and guidance to adult offenders who participate in educational studies on a voluntary basis. Besides general subjects, practical courses such as computer-related and commercial subjects are also taught by qualified teachers.
To enhance language and computer education for both young and adult inmates, we have upgraded the existing facilities and added new equipment for IT learning. We have set up computer rooms and multi-media learning centres in all young offender institutions and in the majority of the adult offender institutions. Establishment of a new computer room in Ma Po Ping Prison began in December 2007 for completion in March 2008. The library in Cape Collinson Correctional Institution was converted to a library cum computer room. The computers and accessories of the computer room in Lai King Training Centre were replaced. Replacement of the computers and accessories for the Computer Room in Lai Chi Rehabilitation Centre will be completed in February 2008. Replacement of the computers and accessories for the Multimedia Learning Centres in Shek Pik Prison and Pak Sha Wan Correctional Institution will be completed in February and March 2008 respectively. Additional computer facilities were provided to other institution including Lai Hang Rehabilitation Centre, Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre, Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre(Annex), Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre, Ma Po Ping Prison / Tong Fuk Centre, Phoenix House and Wai Lan Rehabilitation Centre.
In 2007, inmates and prisoners attempted a total of 1 276 public examination papers and the overall passing rate was 69.4%. The examination results are shown in Appendix 8. As at December 31, 2007, 196 prisoners enrolled in distance learning courses of degree, diploma or certificate levels run by the Open University of Hong Kong and other tertiary education organisations. Needy prisoners may apply for financial assistance for various educational pursuits from the Prisoners' Education Trust Fund and the Jockey Club Inmates' Education Subsidy Scheme. During the year, the total financial assistance provided by these two avenues amounted to $625,243.
To encourage adult offenders to pursue studies voluntarily after work, we deploy voluntary tutors to run various educational classes and interests groups for them. In 2007, a total of 141 classes were run by volunteers of the CSD Rehabilitation Volunteer Group for 1 343 adult offenders. Furthermore, to arouse inmates' interest in tertiary education, we continued to take forward a project to encourage continuous education for offenders by organising a reading scheme namely "Project Rainbow Reading Award Scheme" in Shek Pik Prison and Tai Lam Centre for Women. The Scheme aims to raise prisoners' educational and intellectual standards. The reading scheme launched in Shek Pik Prison on October 21, 2006 was concluded on September 22, 2007 with 110 prisoners participating. The reading scheme in Tai Lam Centre for Women was launched on September 29, 2007 and will be concluded by mid-2008. So far more than 30 prisoners are participating. We also cooperated with the Open University of Hong Kong to provide learning support for inmate students through counselling and visits by voluntary staff and tutors of the University. |
Vocational Training
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| Volunteers from Non-Government Organisations organise hobby classes for inmates. |
Young inmates under the age of 2l receive half-day compulsory technical or commercial training to facilitate their smooth reintegration into society after discharge. Vocational courses keeping pace with developments of the community are conducted to help inmates obtain vocational qualifications of the City and Guilds or to prepare them for trade tests conducted by the Construction Industry Training Authority. There are also courses preparing inmates to obtain exemption for related subjects when studying in vocational training institutes after discharge.
Adult prisoners are engaged in industrial production and trained to acquire the necessary skills. Where appropriate, we will help them obtain skill accreditation by enrolling them in relevant Intermediate Trade Tests conducted by the Construction Industry Training Authority and the Vocational Training Council. In 2007, CSD continued the pilot scheme of operating a pre-release vocational training centre at Lai Sun Correctional Institution to provide full-time market-oriented training for male adult prisoners. As at December 31, 2007, a total of 150 prisoners were engaged in full-time vocational training at the centre. Through redeployment of internal resources or public donations, we also ran 10 vocational courses for 532 adult prisoners in other institutions to prepare them for employment after release.
During the year, inmates and prisoners attempted 1 137 public examination papers and trade tests, and the overall passing rate was 94.8%. Details of the vocational qualifications examinations results are shown in Appendix 9. |
Supervision Services
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| Former Permanent Secretary for Security, Mr Stanley Ying (fifth from left); Commissioner Kwok Leung-ming (sixth from left); and Chairman of the Committee on Community Support for Rehabilitated Offenders, Mr Billy Kong (seventh from left), and CSD's Rehabilitation Ambassador, Mr Richie Yam (fourth from left) unveil vehicles featuring the publicity poster. |
The Department provides, through its supervision staff, statutory supervision for young prisoners, persons released from detention, rehabilitation, training and drug addiction treatment centres, and prisoners released under various supervision schemes. The service is an integral part of the correctional and rehabilitation programmes to assist offenders in re-integrating into society and leading a decent and law-abiding life upon release.
In the interests of an effective supervision, supervision staff strive to foster mutual trust with inmates and their families/significant others while the inmates are in custody. They also give inmates appropriate support and guidance to help them adapt to the institutional programme and make them aware of their inadequacies and the difficulties ahead.
With the help of the computerised Rehabilitation Programme Management System, supervision staff assess the re-offending risks and rehabilitative needs of all inmates and local young prisoners, and conduct regular reviews on rehabilitative needs of each inmate and young prisoner. They also run structured social reintegration programmes for target offenders in inmate centres who are assessed to be having moderate to high risks and needs. These programmes focus on employment guidance needs, family/marital needs, associates/social functioning needs and community functioning needs.
Through regular contacts and visits, supervision staff will guide and assist inmates discharged under supervision for integration. On the other hand, a breach of the supervision conditions may result in the supervisee being recalled back to an institution for further training. In 2007, 887 recall orders were issued. |
Supervision Schemes for Prisoners
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| Publicity poster on a bus calls for support and acceptance of rehabilitated offenders. |
Under the Release Under Supervision Scheme and the Pre-release Employment Scheme, successful applicants may be discharged directly from prison for statutory supervision before the end of their imprisonment or released to live in a hostel where they are provided with supervision services and permitted to go out to work in day time. Both schemes are aimed at giving an opportunity for suitable, eligible and motivated prisoners to serve their sentences in an open environment with supervision. Prisoners breaching the supervision requirements may be subject to re-imprisonment for the remainder of their sentences.
The Post-Release Supervision of Prisoners Scheme provides statutory supervision for certain categories of adult prisoners to facilitate their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Prisoners breaching the supervision conditions may be recalled to serve the balance of their unexpired supervision period.
Under the Conditional Release Scheme, prisoners with indeterminate sentences may, before the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board makes recommendations as to whether their indeterminate sentences should be converted to determinate ones, be conditionally released under supervision for a specific period to test their determination and ability to lead a law-abiding life. Prisoners with indeterminate sentences having been converted to determinate ones may also be ordered by the Board to be placed under post-release supervision under the Supervision After Release Scheme.
As at December 31, 2007, a total of 2 899 persons were under active statutory supervision. A breakdown of the caseload and statistics on success rates is in Appendix 10. |
Half-way House Programme
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| A chef from a famous Chinese restaurant volunteers to coach prisoners at the Lai Sun Correctional Institution Vocational Training Centre. |
The Half-way House Programme is an extension of the rehabilitative effort sustained in detention centre, training centres, drug addiction treatment centres or prisons. Following release, supervisees in need of a period of transitional adjustment may reside in a half-way house to which they can return at night after work or school. There are three half-way houses run by the Department, namely Phoenix House, Pelican House and Bauhinia House.
The programme seeks to cultivate a sense of self-discipline and positive working habits in a structured and supportive environment. Emphasis is placed on behavioural performance, inter-personal relationship and family support. Individual and group counselling sessions, in-house recreation and outdoor activities and community services are organised to strengthen residents' civic and moral awareness. Leave of absence is generally granted on weekends and public holidays to facilitate social reintegration. In 2007, a total of 282 residents were admitted to the three half-way houses. |
Non-government Organisations (NGOs)
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| Vice-chairman of Shun Hing Group, Mr Mong Tak-yeung, presents a certificate to one of the prisoners. |
To utilise social resources for rehabilitative work effectively, we have been working closely with NGOs in the provision of services to inmates/prisoners and rehabilitated offenders. During the year, more than 2 000 volunteers from 63 NGOs were actively involved in a variety of services ranging from the provision of counselling services and religious sacraments, to the organisation of cultural ventures and recreational projects in correctional institutions. In particular, we organised jointly with our NGO partners the "Inter-Institutional Computer In-putting Competition" and "Lyrics and Songs Competition" to display the talents of persons under custody; and the "Global Care for Offender Rehabilitation Slogan Design Competition", the "Recital for Offender Rehabilitation", the "Rehabilitation Fair" and the "NGO Service Day" to appeal for public support for offender rehabilitation.
With a view to strengthening cooperation among the NGOs and providing them with an opportunity to exchange views on matters relating to rehabilitation services, we held an "NGO Forum" with NGO representatives again in September 2007. Besides, a web-based messaging platform, the "NGO Platform", has been set up to provide users with an interactive site to post up topics for open discussion. |
Reaching out to the Community
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| Picture shows renowned pianist Mr Liu Shih Kun (second from right), pianist and pipa player Miss Samantha Sun (second from left), and guzheng player Miss Connie Ng (third from right) staging performance for prisoners in Stanley Prison. |
Community acceptance and support is of paramount importance to the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into society. Comprising community leaders, employers, education workers, professionals and representatives of non-government organisations and government departments, the Committee on Community Support for Rehabilitated Offenders (CCSRO) advises the Commissioner on rehabilitation programmes, and reintegration and publicity strategies. The terms of reference and membership of the Committee are in Appendix 11.
Apart from the CCSRO, the Department continues to cultivate a constructive partnership with community organisations, merchants and trade associations to take forward joint projects for the benefit of offenders and rehabilitated offenders. These organisations include, among others, the Care of Rehabilitated Offenders Association, International CICA Association of Esthetics, Hong Kong Hair & Beauty Merchants Association, Rotary Club of Wanchai, Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon, Yuen Yuen Institute, Merchants Support for Rehabilitated Offenders Committee, Yan Oi Tong and Lions Clubs. A list of the donations by and/or collaborative projects with these organisations is at Appendix 13. |
Publicity Activities
To help the community better understand the needs and problems of rehabilitated offenders and to appeal for public support for them, the Department has launched a series of publicity activities since 1999. Major activities in 2007, including certificate presentation ceremonies, joint community involvement activities with various District Fight Crime Committees, Recital for Offender Rehabilitation, new series of new TV and Radio Announcements in the Public Interest, Rehabilitation Fair, Symposium on Employment of Rehabilitated Offenders, NGO Service Day and TV Variety Show, are in Appendix 12. |
Personal Encounter with Prisoners Scheme
The Department runs the Personal Encounter with Prisoners Scheme as part of the community's fight crime campaign. Youths and students visit one of the several designated institutions to meet with reformed prisoners in experience sharing sessions. The purpose is to help prevent delinquency through the deepening of participants' understanding of the untoward consequences of committing a crime. A total of 3 121 young people and students visited the institutions under the Scheme in 2007. |
Green Haven Scheme
The Department started the Green Haven Scheme in January 2001 to promote the anti-drug message and the importance of environmental protection among young people. Participants meet with young inmates of drug addiction treatment centre to gain insight into the detrimental effects of drug abuse. They also take part in a tree planting ceremony to indicate their support for rehabilitated offenders and environmental protection, and vow to stay away from drugs. During this year, a total of 21 visits were arranged for 454 participants. |
CSD Rehabilitation Volunteer Group
In order to broaden the scope of public involvement, the Department has formed the CSD Rehabilitation Volunteer Group since early 2004. The Group aims to supplement the services of the Department particularly in terms of addressing the reformative, emotional, educational, social and recreational needs of inmates. Apart from conducting interest groups on such topics as languages, computer studies and other cultural pursuits for offenders in various correctional institutions, volunteers of the Group who are mostly college students and serving teachers also assist in other areas of rehabilitation work, such as public education activities for promoting community acceptance of rehabilitated offenders. During 2007, about 100 volunteers of the Group were actively engaged in providing services for offenders. |
Options in Life Student Forum
To demonstrate the willingness of rehabilitated offenders in making contribution to society, the Department conducted from late 2003 to 2005 a round of district-based student forums in all 18 districts to provide opportunities for secondary students and rehabilitated offenders to interact and discuss on the serious consequences of crime. A total of 20 student forums were organised with 3 300 participants. In line with the Department's community involvement strategy, arrangements have been made for similar forums to be run by 12 NGOs since 2006, with the necessary support and steer provided by CSD. |
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