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LCQ6: Existing measures fairly effective in preventing juvenile crime
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    Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (November 22):
 
Question:

     In the evening of the 7th of this month, four youngsters were assaulted with weapons and wounded by more than 30 youngsters.  Regarding juvenile crimes and the problem of youth gangs, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the total number of crimes involving youth gangs in the past two years and, among them, the number of those resulting in casualties, broken down by age groups of the youngsters involved and districts of occurrence;

(b) of the procedure for and details of the handling of cases of youth gang delinquency by government departments, the cooperation and division of responsibilities among the Police, the Social Welfare Department and schools in this respect, and whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of their work; and

(c) whether it has assessed if the problem of youth gangs has been worsening in recent years, and if the problem is found to be worsening, of the reasons for that, and whether it has reviewed the measures taken to prevent juvenile crime to see if there is any inadequacy, including whether police officers frequently patrol those places at which youngsters assemble?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The overall number of juveniles under the age of 18 involved in crime, and among them, the number of those resulting in casualties, broken down by age groups and police regions from 2004 to the third quarter of 2006 are set out in the table at the Annex distributed to Members.  Overall, the total number of cases for 2004 is 7566; for 2005 is 6821; and for the first three quarters of 2006, 5016.  Amongst them, the number of cases resulting in casualties is 1169, 1091 and 798 respectively, which accounts for 15 to 16 per cent of the total number.  

(b) &(c) From the overall number of juveniles under the age of 18 involved in crime and among them those resulting in casualties, the situation does not indicate a deteriorating trend.  However, the Administration appreciates the importance of preventive work, and has been actively putting in resources, and adopting a strategy of inter-disciplinary and inter-functional collaboration, in order to cope with the problem of juvenile crime under the age of 18.  The main emphasis of the strategy is "early intervention" and "guiding juveniles back on track".

     In preventing juvenile crime, the Police have been running over 50 youth initiatives/projects in cooperation with different social organisations in order to enhance their sense of responsibility, self-discipline and awareness of crime prevention.  Besides, officers from the District Anti-triad Squads and frontline Police officers will step up anti-crime patrols at places frequented by juveniles and take enforcement actions where necessary, with a view to minimising the negative influence exerted on students and juveniles through bad association.

     Furthermore, the Police's Secondary School Liaison Officer (SSLO) team also provides a platform for the Police to communicate with the school management and social workers, so that they can have a better appreciation of juveniles' problem and intervene at an early stage to assist juveniles/children in need. SSLOs will also regularly attend workshops and seminars organised by Parents-Teachers Associations, maintain liaison with parents, and share with them methods to prevent the problem of juvenile delinquency, so as to assist in the fight against juvenile delinquency.

     The Social Welfare Department (SWD) also provides through subvented non-governmental organisations outreaching services (including overnight outreaching services) to contact young night drifters and build up relationship with them, and by various intervention strategies, to provide them with counselling, guidance and referral to other youth or social services in order to reduce the negative influence exerted on them through bad association on the street.

     In handling cases involving juvenile unruly behaviour, the Police adopt a strategy of "graduated sanction", in order to deter first time offenders and reduce juvenile recidivism.  If the offence in which an unruly juvenile is involved is of a less serious nature (such as theft or fighting), the Police may caution the juvenile under the Police Superintendents' Discretion Scheme (PSDS).

     For juveniles who have been cautioned under the PSDS, the "Juvenile Protection Section" of the district in which they reside will follow up with post-caution visits.

     After receiving referral cases involving unruly juveniles from the Police, Education and Manpower Bureau would assist the concerned youth to resume schooling and adjust to school life as soon as possible.  SWD would also render relevant support based on the needs of individual cases, for example providing different professional after-care services through the Community Support Service Scheme, or referring the cautioned juveniles for Family Conference where professionals from different streams work together to assess the needs of the juveniles and devise comprehensive follow-up action plans.

     As for young offenders who are prosecuted and convicted, sentences by the court may include statutory support for offenders provided by SWD such as Probation Service, the Community Service Orders Scheme and residential training.  The aim is to assist the rehabilitation of the juveniles through counselling, supervision, unpaid work to the community or structured character and discipline training.  

     As for schools, should they be aware of students joining juvenile crime activities, they will seek assistance and follow-up actions from school social workers and the Police's SSLOs.

     In conclusion, the various concerned government departments will continue to strengthen collaboration with social service organisations, schools and parents, so as to cope with the juvenile delinquency problem.

     We consider the existing range of measures fairly effective in the prevention of juvenile crime.  Of course, we will continue to review these preventive measures on a regular basis through promoting inter-disciplinary and inter-functional discussion and collaboration amongst policy bureaux/departments.

Ends/Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:24

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