NCJ Number
229043
Date Published
July 2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper provides an overview of the core components of the treatment programs provided to juvenile offenders by the Correctional Services Department (CSD) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Abstract
The legal age of criminal responsibility in Hong Kong is 7 years old, and a "child" is interpreted as a person under 14 years old. A "young person" is anyone between 14 and 16 years old. Hong Kong's criminal justice system provides the courts with a wide range of options in managing offending juveniles. Although the Social Welfare Department has statutory authority to deal with some offending youth, this paper focuses on the responsibilities of the CSD under Hong Kong ordinances. In an effort to match the rehabilitative needs of a juvenile offender to a program, presentencing assessments are conducted. There are five major correctional programs available for the treatment of juvenile offenders, all of which are delivered in institutions, i.e., detention centers, rehabilitation centers, training centers, drug addiction treatment centers, and prisons. In addition to sentence-oriented treatment programs in these institutions, the CSD has also developed a variety of needs-oriented supplementary programs designed to address distinctive rehabilitative needs of specified groups of offenders. These programs are entitled the Substance Abuse Awareness and Recidivism Prevention Program, the Violence Prevention Program, Offender Behavior Program for Young Offenders, the Relapse Prevention Course for Inmates Undergoing Drug Addiction Treatment, the Sex Offender Evaluation and Treatment Program, the Education program, and Vocational Training. Remaining sections of this paper outline factors that are critical to the success of treatment programs and features of programs that foster reintegration into the community after release from an institution. 2 figures