NCJ Number
119087
Date Published
1988
Length
8 pages
Annotation
By combining a rigorous, paramilitary routine with educational and rehabilitative opportunities, Hong Kong has used its prison system to produce a low rate of recidivism (75 percent not reconvicted after 2 years of release in 1981 and 1984).
Abstract
In humanizing its penal regime, Hong Kong has been careful not to compromise control and discipline. All programs for adults and juveniles are built on firm discipline, regular living schedule, hard work, and a certain amount of regimentation, designed to produce a stable routine in which inmates are safe from each other. For the future Hong Kong has established a psychological services unit (1976); and 2 years ago, the prison system refined its categorization of "lifers." This same process is being applied to robbers and young offenders. A small number of counseling groups have been instituted, run by officers with proper training in group work. There has been some experimentation with behavioral adjustment units and a small-scale behavioral modification system using points. A primary deficit in Hong Kong's penal system is the lack of an aftercare program following prison release. 18 references.