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Following is a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, to a question by Dr Hon Chiang Lai-wan in the Legislative Council today (June 18):
Question:
When a juvenile under the age of 18 has been arrested for having committed an offence, and there is sufficient evidence to charge him/her with the offence, the Police may, other than bringing the case to the Juvenile Court/Court, exercise discretion by referring the case to a Police Officer of the rank of Superintendent or above to issue a caution (superintendent's caution) to the juvenile offender under the Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme. Regarding the statistics on and the effectiveness of superintendents' cautions, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of juveniles issued with superintendents' cautions in each of the past 10 years, with a tabulated breakdown by type of cases;
(2) of the number of juveniles in each of the past 10 years who recidivated within two years from being issued with superintendents' cautions, with a tabulated breakdown by type of cases;
(3) of the current measures in place to assist juveniles who were issued with superintendents' cautions in their rehabilitation with a view to reducing their recidivism; and
(4) as some juveniles have been issued with superintendents' cautions for more than once, whether the authorities will review the effectiveness of the existing policy of superintendents' cautions in assisting juveniles in rehabilitation; if they will, of the details?
Reply:
President,
(1) and (2) The Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme (PSDS) focuses on the rehabilitation of juveniles whose offences are minor in nature through corrective supervision rather than legal sanction. A police officer at the rank of Superintendent or above may, according to the Department of Justice's guidelines, exercise his discretion in considering the issue of a caution to a juvenile offender in place of criminal prosecution. In deliberating whether to administer a caution, a police officer will take into account a number of factors in accordance with the established procedures, such as whether the juvenile offender was under the age of 18 at the time of committing the offence; how serious is the nature of the crime; whether the offender voluntarily and unequivocally admits the offence; and whether the offender and his parents or guardian(s) agree(s) to the issue of the superintendent's caution. In addition to regular reports to the Fight Crime Committee (FCC) on the implementation of the PSDS, the Police discuss matters involving inter-departmental co-operation with the FCC. Figures of juveniles issued with superintendent's cautions and the related offences in the past decade are at Annex A. The recidivism rate of such juveniles remained at a low level of less than 20% in the past decade. A breakdown of the number of repeated offenders by year and offence is at Annex B.
(3) and (4) The Police have been implementing measures on various fronts to facilitate the rehabilitation of juveniles issued with superintendent's cautions in an effort to reduce recidivism. The superintendents administering the cautions may, with the consent of parents or guardian(s) of the juvenile offenders, refer the offenders to the Juvenile Protection Sections of the Hong Kong Police Force for post-caution visits, as a means to further enhance the effectiveness of the PSDS. In addition, in assessing whether other follow-up services are needed, the Police will consider referring the juveniles to the Social Welfare Department, the Education Bureau, non-governmental organisations running the Community Support Service Scheme, etc. for follow-up, or convening a multi-disciplinary "Family Conference" to look into other rehabilitation schemes that are of benefit to the juvenile offenders, with a view to reducing recidivism.
As a matter of fact, prevention of juvenile crimes is of paramount importance. In addition to anti-crime patrols in places frequented by juveniles, the Police have been strengthening their communication with juveniles through various channels for relaying anti-crime messages to them. Through School Liaison Officers, the Police instil a sense of discipline and positive values in students, and, using the Junior Police Call as a platform, offer diversified training in physical fitness, discipline and team building for young people, as a means to boost their confidence and develop their leadership skills, self-discipline, sense of responsibility and the spirit of serving the community. Moreover, through the "Operation Breakthrough", which has been running for nearly two decades, experienced volunteers from the Police plan and conduct various sports activities, in a bid to provide counseling to juveniles that require attention in their course of healthy and all-round development. The Police shall continue to maintain communication with juveniles through various ways to prevent them from going astray.
Ends/Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Issued at HKT 18:51
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