The Correctional Services Department (CSD) provides appropriate rehabilitation programmes to persons in custody with different needs to assist them to rehabilitate and re-integrate smoothly into society as law-abiding citizens after release. For example, the “Risks and Needs Assessment and Management Protocol for Offenders” has been implemented to facilitate offender rehabilitation by using a scientific and evidence-based approach. Moreover, to keep abreast of the market needs, the Department has introduced various types of vocational training courses to enhance the employability of persons in custody so as to facilitate their return to the labour market after release. Besides, apart from providing counselling services and psychological therapies for persons in custody by professional clinical psychologists, the Department is committed to establishing an innovative platform for rehabilitation work by uniting the efforts of various sectors of the community and different organisations, so as to provide appropriate support in different areas of rehabilitation.
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 2022, the Department handled a total of 1 646 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 co-ordinated views on the sentencing of young offenders to the courts. In 2022, the Department handled a total of 135 cases, with 91 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 2022, 2 224 re-offending risks and rehabilitation needs assessments were conducted by the Department, and 7 713 small-group rehabilitation sessions were arranged for 22 148 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 resolving 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 2022, a total of 168 328 individual counselling sessions were conducted and 1 443 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 persons in custody to help them develop a positive lifestyle through addressing their gender-specific psychological needs. In 2022, the Psychological Services Section conducted a total of 21 062 counselling sessions and prepared 403 assessment reports for persons in custody.
To meet new challenges brought forth by recent social disturbances, the CSD officially launched a new psychological treatment initiative named “Youth Lab” in Pik Uk Correctional Institution on 6 July 2022. Through professional individual counselling and psychological treatment programmes, the “Youth Lab” helps identify the psychological factors underlying offending behaviours among young persons in custody and provide psychological therapies targeting amendable factors, with a view to guiding them away from a path of re-offending. 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 enables them to embrace challenges in the future. It also focuses on providing counselling to young persons in custody to enhance their emotion regulation so as to reduce their emotion-driven offending tendency, and enhance their problem-solving ability, thereby boosting their mental health and self-control.
Apart from the traditional cognitive treatment approach, behavioural treatment is also adopted at the “Youth Lab” in the process of promoting self-regulation and enhancing responsivity. A variety of age- and youth-responsive psychological tools, such as digital technology (i.e. tablet computers installed with diversified psychological treatment resources/tools, namely the “MindTools”), the biofeedback system, expressive arts resources, therapeutic cards, emotion de-escalation materials (for practising self-calming techniques) and panel televisions, etc. are employed to enhance the motivation of young persons in custody for participating in treatment programmes and their effectiveness.
The “Youth Lab” provides psychological therapies for young persons in custody through the use of diversified treatment materials and tools.
Another psychological treatment initiative “CHANGE Lab” in Shau Kei Wan Multi-purpose Family and Rehabilitation Service Centre was officially launched by the Department on 26 October 2022, marking the extension of the reach of psychological services beyond the prison walls. This pioneering community-based psychological counselling programme aims at assisting rehabilitated young offenders under supervision to develop psychological resilience which helps them cope with stress and challenges upon return to society, thereby fostering their psychological well-being. Due to the social situation, there has been an upsurge in the number of young persons in custody in recent years. Family support is of utmost importance to the rehabilitation of young offenders and considered as one of the factors crucial to their re-offending risk. Nevertheless, rehabilitated young offenders under supervision and their parents have to face various challenges in today’s society, causing unprecedented impacts to their mental health and parent-child relationships. The establishment of the “CHANGE Lab” is to extend the scope of the existing psychological services with a view to strengthening rehabilitative services and support for young offenders under supervision through providing family-based psychological support, encouraging effective parent-child communication, fostering positive parent-child relationships and enhancing family resilience, so that rehabilitated young offenders can achieve positive personal growth.
The “CHANGE Lab” in Shau Kei Wan Multi-purpose Family and Rehabilitation Service Centre offers a wide range of psychological services to rehabilitated young offenders.
The clinical psychologists of the Department also introduced an initiative named “MindTools” – a psychological treatment resources library which contains a series of therapeutic video clips and animations produced by the Psychological Services Section. These video clips and animations, which are for viewing on modern technological devices like tablet computers, are tailor-made for young offenders taking into account their gender-specific learning modes. Under the guidance of clinical psychologists, young persons in custody and inmates of drug addiction centres could receive therapeutic messages on a more flexible platform. The interactive audio-visual learning mode could foster their interest in learning psychological skills. The first phase of “MindTools” was launched in early March 2021. In view of the positive and active responses from the participants, the Department has progressively provided more therapeutic messages, which help refine, enrich and expand the existing individualised and group treatments. Under the programme, persons in custody are encouraged to keep practising new psychological skills beyond treatment hours to further consolidate their learning. Embarking on its seventh phase of development, “MindTools” has a collection of 63 therapeutic video clips and animations.
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 2022 to enhance their effectiveness. Through the application of the “Customizable VR Psychological Assessment and Treatment Tool”, which is free from the constraints of previous similar systems, clinical psychologists can flexibly set the environment, characters and conversation content in the VR settings according to individual participants’ therapeutic needs. Participants can receive training with a focus on practising various kinds of psychological skills in different VR settings, which help them deal with emotional problems, improve communication skills and strengthen 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 programmes 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 responses from persons in custody, and their motivation for treatment has also improved significantly.
In view of the significant increase in the number of admissions to correctional institutions due to involvement in the social disturbances, the CSD has tailor-made a psychological programme called the “Psychological Pathway for Change” for relevant adult persons in custody in need, which aims to address the psychological problems underlying their offending behaviours and help them positively re-integrate into society after release. The “Psychological Pathway for Change” is an individualised programme, consisting of a full spectrum of comprehensive specialised psychological assessment and treatment, to address mental health problems, extreme anti-social violent thoughts, psychological and emotional distress, difficulty in impulse control, etc. Besides, the Department has organised a series of “Positive Art Group” in different institutions. Combining positive psychology, mindfulness practice and art elements in an innovative way, the “Positive Art Group” guides the participants to deal with their psychological problems, helps them reduce negative emotions and behaviour and enhances positive thinking and resilience, thereby strengthening their mental health. In addition, through organising psychological programmes combining psychological treatment with sport, drama and dance elements in collaboration with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as the “Psycho-fitness Programme”, “Psycho-drama Programme” and “Psycho-dance Programme”, etc., clinical psychologists guide persons in custody to deeply reflect on the meaning of life and cultivate positive attitudes and behaviours.
As many participants are facing family rifts or other serious family problems, the Department has specially introduced a family-based therapy. Family members of persons in custody are invited to the respective institutions to receive family therapy together, so as to strengthen participants’ determination to turn over a new leaf and help them become law-abiding citizens with positive attitudes through the mending of family relationships and under family support. During the COVID-19 epidemic, clinical psychologists provided video family-based psychological therapy for persons in custody and their families, so that they could receive professional psychological treatment timely.
The Education Unit of the CSD provides half-day 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 encourages persons in custody to obtain accredited qualifications by assisting them in sitting for public examinations and taking distance learning courses, such as the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination and the distance learning courses offered by the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU). In 2022, a total of 292 public examination papers were taken by persons in custody and the overall passing rate was 77 per cent, while 1 201 distance learning courses were completed with a passing rate of 81 per cent. In October 2022, the Department and the HKMU signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide more comprehensive support for persons in custody who wish to continue their studies. To keep pace with the trend in innovation and technology, the Department has set up the “Learning On Demand” e-Learning Platform in designated institutions for young offenders to promote an e-learning mode which can cater for the learning needs of different persons in custody.
The CSD and the HKMU sign a Memorandum of Understanding to provide more comprehensive support for persons in custody who wish to continue their studies.
The Industries and Vocational Training Section is dedicated to providing various vocational training courses for persons in custody to acquire skills and generic knowledge of various trades, and to obtain market-accredited qualifications so as to enhance their employability or enable them to enrol in bridging/progressive courses after release.
In 2022, the Department continued to collaborate with different training bodies, including Vocational Training Council, Employees Retraining Board, Construction Industry Council, etc., to provide over 40 market-oriented vocational training courses with over 1 400 training places for eligible adult persons in custody. Besides, the Department also provided 13 half-day vocational training courses for young persons in custody, covering commercial practice, creative multimedia technology, coffee house operations, western snack and dessert making, building services, beauty care, etc.
In order to meet the career development needs of persons in custody, the Department has enhanced the existing Graphic Design Course. In collaboration with the YMCA College of Careers, the CSD has introduced the Diploma in Computer Graphics Course for persons in custody to obtain recognised qualifications through learning technologies widely used in the market so as to enhance their chances of employment and further education after release. In December 2022, a new training coffee house was established in Sha Tsui Correctional Institution, which provides the Coffee House Operations and Western Snack and Dessert Making Course. The Department is also carrying out alteration works to the existing facilities in Sha Tsui Correctional Institution to establish the Creative Multimedia Technology Training Workshop. Besides, the Department plans to introduce the Creative Multimedia Technology Course in collaboration with the HKU SPACE in the first quarter of 2023, providing an opportunity for the young persons in custody with higher academic qualifications to learn up-to-date industry knowledge and skills.
Young persons in custody equip themselves through enrolling in the Diploma in Computer Graphics Course to keep pace with industry development.
Young persons in custody can take the newly introduced Specialty Drink Making Course in the new training restaurant “Café Recoffery”.
To facilitate the employment of persons in custody after release, the Department held career talks cum job fairs for young and adult persons in custody in August and October 2022 respectively, during which representatives of the construction industry were invited to introduce the latest development of the construction industry and related employment schemes. On-site job interviews were also conducted in order to help persons in custody obtain early employment and training opportunities, so that they can start a new life as soon as possible after release.
The Department invites representatives of the construction industry to hold career talks cum job fairs for young and adult persons in custody at Pik Uk Correctional Institution and Pik Uk Prison respectively, so as to enable persons in custody to plan for future employment before release.
The CSD arranges for persons in custody to engage in useful work according to the law, through which persons in custody can 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 3 475 persons in custody were engaged in industrial production work in about 130 workshops. In 2022, the CSD continued to provide various government departments with goods and services covering 13 trades at a total commercial value of $447 million. Affected by the epidemic at the beginning of 2022, all workshops in correctional institutions had to suspend operation from 14 February to 20 April 2022 in order to deploy staff to fight the epidemic.
The CSD actively prepared to set up a new production line for manufacturing 3D respirators at Lo Wu Correctional Institution in 2022, with a view to enhancing product diversification of personal protective equipment. The production line is expected to commence bulk production in the first quarter of 2023. To facilitate the Government’s anti-epidemic work, the CSD set up a temporary assembly line for packaging 200 000 sets of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits at the Filter Mask Production Workshop of Lo Wu Correctional Institution for distribution to the public by the Home Affairs Department.
Persons in custody assist in the packaging of RAT kits at the Filter Mask Production Workshop of Lo Wu Correctional Institution.
The CSD has been actively introducing high-end and automated production facilities, and continues to optimise the quality management system of the Correctional Services Industries, so that persons in custody can acquire up-to-date skills in correctional institutions. In 2022, the Department converted the Carpentry Workshop of Pik Uk Prison into a Smart Carpentry Workshop. To enhance quality and production accuracy, a computerised panel-sizing and a computerised numerical controlled multi-sides boring machine equipped with a robotic arm for workpieces distribution and a real-time production monitoring system were introduced to allow persons in custody to learn how to operate automated production equipment and to acquire the latest operational skills of the industry. In addition, the Department procured a set of steam tunnel finisher equipped with garment folding robots and sorting and monorail conveying system in the Laundry Workshop of Pik Uk Prison to enhance operational efficiency. During the year, the Department introduced a computerised concrete batching and mixing system to the Precast Concrete Workshop of Tai Lam Correctional Institution to enhance production efficiency and further strengthen the quality control of products. The Precast Concrete Workshop has supplied various precast concrete products for different government infrastructure projects, including the Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel and Tseung Kwan O Cross Bay Link projects.
A person in custody learns how to use the automated production equipment in the Smart Carpentry Workshop of Pik Uk Prison.
A set of steam tunnel finisher newly installed in the Laundry Workshop of Pik Uk Prison to enhance operational efficiency.
An Instructor teaches a person in custody about the operation of the computerised concrete batching and mixing system and the arrangement for transporting concrete products.
The CSD has been collaborating with the Lok Sin Tong and Action Green Committee Limited to jointly launch the “Glass Bottle Recycling Project”, under which glass bottles will be collected from 17 schools under the purview of Lok Sin Tong and handed over to the contractor commissioned by the Environmental Protection Department. The contractor will process the glass bottles into glass sand, which will then be used by Tai Lam Correctional Institution to produce rehabilitative promotion items, so as to promote environmental protection and rehabilitation.
The Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong Shuk-han, and the Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Wong Kwok-hing, attend the opening ceremony of the “Glass Bottle Recycling Project” together with all guests and students.
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 the CSD on offender rehabilitation and publicity strategies. Besides, the Department works closely with rehabilitation synergistic partners to promote offender rehabilitation. In 2022, around 100 NGOs/charitable organisations/synergistic partners/community stakeholders provided various counselling, cultural, religious and recreational activities, or were actively involved in the development projects and plans of the Department.
The CSD Rehabilitation Volunteer Group provides various services and organises content-rich activities to meet the needs of persons in custody. With 225 volunteers, the Group organises language courses, computer studies courses and other cultural activities for persons in custody in various correctional institutions. Since the local epidemic situation was volatile in the past year, some of the activities to be jointly organised by the Department and the rehabilitation synergistic partners were inevitably affected. As such, the Department had temporarily arranged for the rehabilitation synergistic partners to conduct hobby classes, religious activities, counselling services, etc. for persons in custody in correctional institutions via video conferencing. Following the easing off of the epidemic situation, the Department has resumed all its activities.
The CSD invites the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association to organise an introductory table tennis referee course for persons in custody.
Hong Kong Table Tennis Team members give a sharing to persons in custody.
During the activity “Teen Angel” organised by the CSD, the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, becomes a chef to cook with young persons in custody. The persons in custody utilise the food and beverage skills learned to cook for their families.
Since 1999, publicity activities on offender rehabilitation have been organised to establish a bridge between persons in custody and society. Through a wide range of activities, members of the public could realise the importance of community acceptance and engagement to persons in custody. The Department will continue to collaborate with employers, business organisations and statutory bodies. Through institutional visits and other forms of exchanges, more employment opportunities could be sought for rehabilitated persons.
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 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, some of which are also uploaded to the social platforms 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. As the epidemic situation has levelled off, the Department organised several sessions of “Shall We Talk” in the second half of 2022. Members of the Hong Kong Table Tennis Team, Mr Wong Chun-ting, Mr Ho Kwan-kit, Miss Doo Hoi-kem, and Miss Lee Ho-ching; Olympic medalist and Hong Kong karate athlete, Miss Grace Lau; and former Captain of the Hong Kong Wushu Team, Mr Cheng Ka-ho, etc. were invited to be interviewed by persons in custody.
Olympic medalist and Hong Kong karate athlete Miss Grace Lau participates in the “Shall We Talk” Broadcasting Programme.
In recent years, quite a number of radical people involved in serious offences have been admitted to correctional institutions. Many of them were incited to break the law or went astray after being influenced by radical thoughts. As some of these persons in custody do not have a thorough understanding of our country or even have misconceptions, it is necessary for the Department to deepen their understanding of Chinese history and culture, and enhance their sense of national identity. In this connection, the CSD has launched the “Project PATH” which is pursued along three focused rehabilitation directions, namely understanding Chinese history and strengthening national education, psychological reconstruction and re-establishment of values, and life planning and rebuilding of family relationships, with a view to assisting persons in custody who broke the law due to radical thoughts to rebuild positive values and face various challenges ahead with positive attitudes.
The CSD has implemented an education programme named “Understanding history is the beginning of knowledge”, which adopts a diverse mode of learning including virtual reality equipment and e-sports, etc. to help persons in custody understand Chinese history and culture as well as strengthen their sense of national identity. Besides, to be in line with the curriculum reform, moral education, civic education and education on the Basic Law and National Security Law have been enhanced so as to raise the law-abiding awareness among persons in custody, thereby assisting them to get back on the right track.
Persons in custody participate in a mega traditional lantern making workshop to learn and understand traditional Chinese cultures.
A young person in custody visits the Opium War Museum through a virtual tour.
The Department launched the Project JET at the end of October 2022, which aims to provide “one-stop” training and career development opportunities for persons in custody to encourage them to make life planning early, so that they can contribute to society by utilising their potential. Activities under the project include (1) life planning: to provide talks and workshops on life planning for persons in custody in correctional institutions; (2) in-house training: to provide relevant professional training for persons in custody; (3) post-release internship: to provide post-release internship opportunities in Hong Kong or the Greater Bay Area for persons in custody who have completed relevant training; (4) official employment: to offer full-time employment to rehabilitated persons with good performance during their internship; and (5) a mentoring scheme: to match rehabilitated persons with appropriate mentors as life mentors to teach them work skills and provide life education during their internship until employment.
Persons in custody attend a life planning talk held by a major enterprise.
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 schemes. 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 offenders and young persons in custody discharged from the detention centre, rehabilitation centres, training centres and drug addiction treatment centres, and rehabilitated persons discharged under the Release under Supervision Scheme, Pre-release Employment Scheme, Post-release Supervision Scheme, Conditional Release Scheme, and Supervision after Release Scheme, 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 2022, a total of 1 193 persons were under statutory supervision.
The CSD has established three multi-purpose family and rehabilitation service centres in Mong Kok, Shau Kei Wan and Sheung Shui respectively to provide psychological and counselling services for rehabilitated offenders and their families. These centres also provide video social visit service for families of persons in custody. Those who are unable to visit correctional institutions due to old age, pregnancy, disabilities or other reasons can make an appointment for a video visit, thereby strengthening the ties between persons in custody and their relatives and friends. The Department will set up two additional multi-purpose family and rehabilitation service centres in Sha Tin and Tuen Mun respectively to expand the rehabilitation services, so that more rehabilitated offenders as well as their families and friends can be benefitted.
The Shau Kei Wan Multi-purpose Family and Rehabilitation Service Centre formally came into operation on 26 October 2022.
The Shau Kei Wan Multi-purpose Family and Rehabilitation Service Centre provides video social visit service for families and friends of persons in custody.