Work Programmes in Hong Kong Prisons (From UNAFEI (United Nations Asia and Far East Insitute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders) Report for 1978 and Resource Material, P 77-80, 1979 - See NCJ-70911)

• NCJ Number: 70915
• Author(s): J Wong
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: Japan

Annotation

Work programs in Hong Kong prisons are described, with attention to vocational training, job placement, and halfway house services.

Abstract

Currently, the Prisons Department of Hong Kong administers 19 penal institutions. All institutions are involved in industrial activities and manual and domestic activities. Indoor activities include tailoring, laundry, mailbag making and repairing, shoe making, silk screening, tinsmithing and metal work, rattan and bamboo, printing, carpentry, fiberglass molding, and panel beating. Outdoor activities include building and road construction and maintenance. The primary objectives of the work programs are cultivation of good working habits, vocational training for adult and young offenders so their employment potential after discharge will be improved, the provision of productive activities while in prison, and financial savings to the government. All inmates, except those excused on medical grounds, are involved in a work program. Inmates are paid wages according to the skills required for the work performed. Upon request, inmates with or without employment skills are referred to the Labour Department for employment assistance upon discharge. The Hong Kong Discharged Prisoners Aid Society, a voluntary agency assisted by Government support, sends caseworkers to prisons regularly to provide guidance for inmates about to be discharged, including arrangements for jobs upon discharge. A halfway house operated by aftercare officers continues the care given to drug offenders released from drug addiction treatment centers; services include employment guidance. Although the productive output from prison industries increases yearly, shortages of facilities and staff have been major problems. Moreover, the generally low intelligence and inferior work skills and habits of the inmates make advancement into sophisticated occupations difficult. Wages for the various levels of inmate work are listed, and data are provided on work output at commerical rates and financial return.