Correctional Services Department 2021 Annual Review

Through pre-sentence assessment, the Department provides background reports on convicted persons awaiting sentencing to the courts and advises the courts on the appropriate rehabilitation programmes. In 2021, the Department handled a total of 1 939 cases. The Young Offenders Assessment Panel, comprising professionals from the CSD and the Social Welfare Department, is tasked to handle young offender cases. Through interviews and assessments, the Panel provides coordinated views on the sentencing of young offenders to the courts. In 2021, the Department handled a total of 112 cases, with 89.32 per cent of its recommendations adopted.

Developed through an “evidence-based” and data analysis approach, the Risks and Needs Assessment and Management Protocol for Offenders aims to identify the rehabilitation needs and re-offending risks of persons in custody. Upon assessment, corresponding appropriate intervention would be made to enhance prison management and match persons in custody with suitable rehabilitation programmes. In 2021, 2 194 re-offending risks and rehabilitation needs assessments were conducted by the Department and 9 619 small-group rehabilitation sessions were arranged for 29 174 participants.

The Rehabilitation Division renders welfare support and counselling to persons in custody to facilitate their adjustment to institutional life, and assist persons in custody, detainees and their families in solving the problems and difficulties arising from imprisonment. Apart from addressing the welfare needs of persons in custody, the Rehabilitation Division would guide persons in custody to reflect on their offending behaviours and prepare them for re-integration into society. In 2021, a total of 175 433 individual counselling sessions were conducted and 1 688 pre-release reintegration orientation courses were organised.

Criminal mind is the root of criminal behaviours. Psychological services aim to correct the offending behaviours of persons in custody and enhance their psychological well-being. The CSD makes use of clinical tools to offer systematic psychological assessments and continuous follow-up services. The Rehabilitation Division keeps strengthening the psychological treatment programmes targeting offending behaviours for sex offenders, violent offenders, young offenders and drug abusers. Besides, psychological treatment centres have been established to provide appropriate psychological treatment programmes for participants to help them develop a positive lifestyle through addressing their gender-specific psychological needs. In 2021, the Psychological Services Section conducted a total of 27 563 counselling sessions and prepared 485 assessment reports for persons in custody.

In July 2020, the Department established the Mindfulness Place, the first mindfulness-based psychological drug addiction treatment centre for male persons in custody at Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre where elements of mindfulness are incorporated into the “Drug Abuse Rehabilitation Programme”. In 2021, the Department continued to enhance the existing drug treatment and rehabilitation services. Apart from offering a tranquil environment and comprehensive facilities for persons in custody to practise mindfulness at the Mindfulness Place, clinical psychologists have specially designed a series of diversified treatment activities incorporated with innovative ideas and interesting animation to assist persons in custody in learning mindfulness. As male drug abusers generally have lower motivation for change, clinical psychologists spared no effort to optimise the mindfulness treatment group and launched a series of new initiatives to support the promotion of mindfulness drug addiction treatment. One of the initiatives was to collaborate with the Hong Kong Mindful Yoga Association to hold a 10-session mindfulness yoga class on a trial basis in the Mindfulness Place. Through engaging in physical exercises which combined music with yoga for training both the body and mind, persons in custody have learned to focus on and live in the present moment.

The clinical psychologists of the Department also launched a psychological service named “MindTools”. A series of therapeutic video clips were produced by the Psychological Services Section for watching by persons in custody receiving mindfulness treatment by means of modern technologies such as tablet computers, so that these persons in custody could acquire therapeutic messages in a more flexible setting. The mode of interactive audio-visual learning could also foster their interest in learning psychological skills. The first phase of “MindTools” was launched in early March 2021. In view of the positive responses from the participants, the Department has created more therapeutic messages progressively and extended the service to institutions for young offenders, so as to refine, enrich and expand the existing individualised and group treatment. This service also encourages persons in custody to keep practising new skills outside treatment hours to consolidate their learning.

The application of virtual reality (VR) technology in the development of psychological services is a new global trend. Drawing on the past successful experience, the Department proactively applied modern technologies to psychological treatment programmes in 2021 to enhance their effectiveness. The “Customizable VR Psychological Assessment and Treatment Tool” was developed, which is free from the constraints of similar previous systems. Through the new system, clinical psychologists can flexibly set the environment, characters and conversation content in the VR settings according to the individual participants’ therapeutic needs. Participants can be trained with focus to pick up various kinds of psychological techniques in differing VR settings, which help them deal with emotional problems, improve communication skills and enhance law-abiding awareness, etc. Besides, the Department has launched the digitalised psychological programme “Psyber Space” for adult persons in custody. Through the use of tablet computers, adult persons in custody can participate in the multi-media and interactive psychological courses to learn how to handle various kinds of emotional problems, reflect on and rectify fallacies in thinking, practise mindfulness and relaxation exercises, etc. The modernised psychological treatment programmes have received positive response from persons in custody, and their motivation for treatment has improved significantly.

Departmental clinical psychologists have tailor-made a psychological programme, the “Psychological Pathway for Change”, for adult persons in custody, which aims to address the psychological problems underlying the offending behaviours of adult persons in custody and help them positively re-integrate into society after release. This individualised programme consists of a full spectrum of comprehensive specialised assessment and treatment addressing mental health problems, extreme anti-social violent thoughts, psychological and emotional distress, and difficulty in impulse control, etc. Besides, as many participants are facing family rifts or other serious family problems, the Department has specially introduced a family-based therapy. Family members of the persons in custody are invited to the institutions to receive family therapy together, hoping that the mending of family relationships and family support can strengthen the participants’ determination to turn over a new leaf and become law-abiding citizens with positive attitudes.

Raising the education level of persons in custody could facilitate their re-integration into society after release. As such, the Education Unit of the CSD provides half-day formal education classes to young persons in custody below the age of 21 and offers academic support for adult persons in custody in pursuing continuing education on a voluntary basis. The Department also encourages persons in custody to obtain accredited qualifications by assisting them in sitting for public examinations, such as the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, and taking distance learning courses offered by local tertiary institutes including the Hong Kong Metropolitan University. In 2021, a total of 327 public examination papers were taken by persons in custody and the overall passing rate was 64 per cent, while 1 171 distance learning courses were completed with a passing rate of 87 per cent. To keep pace with the innovation and technology trend, the Department also strives to promote STEM education and e-learning in correctional institutions.

In 2021, the Industries and Vocational Training (I&VT) Section provided over 40 market-oriented vocational training courses with a total of over 1 400 training places to eligible adult persons in custody to enable them to acquire skills of various trades and common knowledge, and obtain market-accredited qualifications so as to enhance their employability or enable them to enrol in bridging/progressive courses after release. During the year, the Department, in collaboration with local training bodies, organised the first “Training Course on Virtual Reality Interior Design” and the “Advanced Training Course on Virtual Reality Logistics Management” for persons in custody to learn the new technologies widely used in the market nowadays, thereby enhancing their employability after release. Besides, the Department also provides 13 half-day vocational training courses to young persons in custody, covering metal work, hairstyling, beauty care, food and beverage services, elementary Cantonese cooking and kitchen operations, coffee house operation, laundry skill, electrical installations, graphic design, cleaning skill, decorative joinery, commercial practice, etc. Apart from Café Rehapuccino which provides training on coffee house operation, a bakery training workshop “Bake My Way” was set up in Pik Uk Correctional Institution in November 2021 to provide new western pastry and dessert making courses for young persons in custody.

In 2021, the CSD provided various government departments with goods and services covering 13 trades, amounting to a total commercial value of $493 million. The I&VT Section arranges for persons in custody to engage in useful work according to the law, through which persons in custody could develop self-discipline and a sense of responsibility, acquire skills of various trades and contribute to society. During the year, a daily average of about 3 610 persons in custody were engaged in production work in about 130 workshops. In view of the epidemic development, the Department consolidated a number of production lines for personal protective equipment and introduced new production facilities in 2021, so that a more diversified range of protective gear, including disposable caps, face shields, filter masks, protective gowns and shoe covers, etc., could be produced. At the same time, the Department also enhanced its quality management. In March 2021, all filter mask workshops of the Department obtained ISO13485:2016 certification of Quality Management System for Medical Devices. Moreover, to support the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme spearheaded by the Civil Service Bureau, the Filter Mask Workshop of Lo Wu Correctional Institution had deployed some manpower since early March 2021 for packaging the “Together, We Fight the Virus” face masks for distribution to members of the public who received vaccination. The task was completed in November 2021, with a total of about 4.5 million packets of masks packed.

Keeping its finger on the pulse of the market, the I&VT Section has been introducing innovative manufacturing technologies for persons in custody to acquire up-to-date skills in correctional institutions. Since mid-2021, the Department has been planning for the introduction of automatic production systems to Pik Uk Prison, including the first set of computerised nesting and panel-sizing system to the Carpentry Workshop. In October 2021, an automatic edge-banding machine in the Carpentry Workshop of Stanley Prison was replaced, and a computerised concrete batching plant was introduced to the Precast Concrete Workshop of Tai Lam Correctional Institution. The introduction of innovative manufacturing technologies served to enhance production efficiency and further strengthen the quality control of products.

The CSD is dedicated to promoting environmental protection through community education. The Department, in collaboration with Po Leung Kuk (PLK) and the Action Green Committee Limited (Action Green), launched the Glass Bottles Recycling Project to raise recycling awareness among students. To promote the messages of environmental protection and rehabilitation, Tai Lam Correctional Institution recycled the collected glass bottles to make glass tiles and a range of rehabilitation promotional items. Besides, the I&VT Section is also committed to incorporating green elements into production. In 2021, the diesel boilers at the Commercial Laundry of Pik Uk Prison were successfully replaced by gas boilers, which are expected to bring about an annual reduction of 310 tonnes of carbon emission.

The Department works closely with rehabilitation synergistic partners to promote offender rehabilitation and establish rehabilitation platforms. In 2021, around 100 NGOs/ charitable organisations/ synergistic partners/ community stakeholders provided various counselling, cultural, religious and recreational activities, or were actively involved in the long-term development projects and plans of the Department. In October 2021, correctional facilities under the CSD held various thanksgiving activities under the theme of “Thank-you NGO Month” to provide an opportunity for persons in custody to express gratitude towards the volunteers of NGOs, who have been rendering service support to the Department. Since the local epidemic situation was volatile, some of the activities to be jointly organised by the Department and the rehabilitation synergistic partners were affected. The Department will continue to maintain close contact with rehabilitation synergistic partners and resume various activities in phases when the epidemic situation stabilises. Besides, the CSD will coordinate different social resources to assist young rehabilitated offenders – for example, to organise “Project Change” to provide young supervisees with job referral service and assistance in pursuing further studies, and to follow up with young supervisees who are about to complete their statutory supervision and in need of counselling.

The CSD has been reaching out to the community to engage the public in offender rehabilitation. Composed of community leaders and professionals, the Committee on Community Support for Rehabilitated Offenders is one of the partners which advises on offender rehabilitation and publicity strategies. The CSD Rehabilitation Volunteer Group (CSDRVG) provides various services and organises content-rich activities to meet the needs of persons in custody. With around 210 volunteers, the Group organises language courses, computer studies courses and other cultural activities for persons in custody in various correctional institutions. Since 1999, publicity activities on offender rehabilitation have been organised to establish a bridge between persons in custody and the society. Through activities such as District-based Publicity Activities on Offender Rehabilitation organised by District Fight Crime Committees, Thank-you NGO Month, NGO Forum and Award Presentation Ceremony for Volunteers of CSDRVG, members of the public could realise the importance of community acceptance and engagement to persons in custody. With a view to seeking more employment opportunities for rehabilitated persons, the Department will continue to collaborate with various employers, business organisations and statutory bodies, and work through institutional visits and other forms of exchanges.

Since its introduction in 2011, the Youth Broadcasting Programme “Shall We Talk” has gained wide support and recognition from various sectors of the community. Over the years, community leaders from different sectors and celebrities have been invited to participate in the interviews and video recording sessions. Through sharing their own experiences and life wisdom, they encouraged young persons in custody to reflect on themselves and learn from mistakes, take on challenges with perseverance and pursue their life goals with dedication. Moreover, in the process of the interviews and video recording, young persons in custody could enhance their presentation abilities and confidence, and acquire some new skills to contribute to society. Videos recorded are broadcast in correctional institutions for young offenders, of which some are also uploaded to the Facebook page of the Department for public access, with a view to securing community support, disseminating the message of supporting offender rehabilitation and fostering law-abiding awareness among the young generation.

In view of the rising number of young people sentenced to correctional institutions for having committed riot-related offences in recent years, the Rehabilitation Division of the CSD has coordinated the efforts of its Education Unit, departmental clinical psychologists and other government departments to launch a series of new rehabilitation programmes since 2020 to help young persons in custody disengage from radical thoughts, rebuild correct values and lead a new life.

In 2021, the CSD actively planned for the implementation of a new service named “Youth Lab” in Pik Uk Correctional Institution. Through professional individual counselling and psychological treatment programmes, the “Youth Lab” seeks to identify the psychological causes underlying offending behaviours among young persons in custody nowadays and then provide intervention targeting amendable factors, with a view to helping them turn away from a path of reoffending. The “Youth Lab” aims to help young persons in custody develop pro-social attitudes, values and beliefs crucial to successful re-integration, and to enhance their psychological resilience that protects against future challenges. This specialised service has been put on trial and the Department plans to provide this service comprehensively in 2022 to young persons in custody as necessary.

Apart from traditional cognitive treatment, behavioural treatment is also provided at the “Youth Lab” in the process of promoting self-regulation and enhancing responsivity. A variety of age- and clientele-responsive tools, such as digital technology (i.e. tablet computers installed with a variety of psychological treatment resources/ tools, namely the “MindTools”), biofeedback system, expressive arts resources, therapeutic cards, emotion de-escalation materials (for practising self-calming techniques) and panel TV are employed in intervention at the “Youth Lab” to enhance young offenders’ responsivity to the treatment.

With regard to education, the Department’s Education Unit provides suitable education programmes for young persons in custody, and strengthens their law-abiding awareness through teaching the Basic Law and National Security Law. It also adopts a diversified mode of learning to facilitate the delivery of history and civic education to instil positive values into young persons in custody, and has organised various history and cultural activities such as Cantonese opera classes and papermaking classes under the educational initiative “Understanding History is the Beginning of Knowledge”. These activities, supplemented by national education, enhance young persons in custody’s sense of national identity, thereby helping them reflect on the meaning of life and develop a firm determination not to commit the same faults again after release.

In collaboration with the Hong Kong Elite Athletes Association, the Department also arranged the Sports Fun Day for elite athletes to visit Pik Uk Correctional Institution, during which they participated in cultural experiential activities and exchanges with young persons in custody. The activities enabled young persons in custody to appreciate the long and rich Chinese social culture from a new perspective, thereby helping them enhance their sense of national identity and rebuild positive values.

Since the second half of 2020, the CSD and the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) have jointly organised the “Walk with YOUth Programme”. Capitalising on the valuable experience and unique strengthens of both departments in crime prevention and offender rehabilitation, the Programme seeks to instil positive values into young persons in custody and promote law-abiding awareness among them through a series of rehabilitation programmes, thereby reducing the recidivism rate and maintaining social order and peace. To assist young persons in custody to re-integrate into society, the Programme unites a diverse array of community stakeholders to create rehabilitation opportunities.

The Department organised the “Zen Photography Worshop” on the basis of “arts therapy” at a correctional institution in 2021 for the first time. Changlin Fashi, who is a master of Zen practice as well as a local professional photographer, was invited to conduct a photography class at Pik Uk Correctional Institution. Under his guidance, young persons in custody participating in the workshop learned how to make use of a camera and photography skills to photograph different things found within the limited space in the institution. Such arts therapy could not only enhance young offenders’ interest in the art of photography, but also help them express their inner feelings and soothe their minds, so as to alleviate their negative emotions. They also learned to think from another perspective calmly in the face of difficulties, and would then be able to de-radicalise and enhance their problem-solving skills.

Halfway houses provide accommodation and rehabilitation services for supervisees of the detention centre, rehabilitation centres, training centres and drug addiction treatment centres, or supervisees under other statutory supervision programmes. Supervisees residing in halfway houses can go out to work or study during daytime, thereby facilitating their re-integration into society and enhancing their sense of self-discipline and civic awareness. Recreational and social activities are provided in the halfway houses as well.

The Rehabilitation Division renders statutory supervision and counselling to rehabilitated persons discharged from the detention centre, rehabilitation centres, training centres and drug addiction treatment centres to assist them in re-integrating into society. Supervising staff pay home visits or workplace visits to supervisees, and help them rebuild relationships with their families and friends for mutual respect and support. As at the end of 2021, a total of 1 035 persons were under active statutory supervision.