NCJ Number
82730
Date Published
Unknown
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The research paper focuses on young female offenders who are under the supervision of the Hong Kong Prison Department and discusses offender profiles and possible factors conducive to criminal activity.
Abstract
The research design involved completion of a questionnaire by 67 young female offenders. In addition, personal interviews were conducted, and the data were verified through checks of official documents. Findings revealed that over 65 percent of the girls were within the age range of 15 to 17 years. The majority of girls were born in Hong Kong, and more than 50 percent had formal schooling up to the secondary level. Nearly 50 percent of the girls had no religious belief. Approximately 40 percent of the girls were dance hostesses, and 31.3 percent of them were earning extra money by drug peddling or prostitution. The average offender was not satisfied with family life, probably because she could not accept parental discipline. Most were eventually sentenced to the training center for a property offense. The typical offender looked at the past with repentance and decided to change for the better. The training center program was considered useful by 82.1 percent of the sample, and the likelihood of the offender refraining from further crime was as high as 90 percent at the end of 3 years. Footnotes and 34 tables are provided.